' 


BURNETTIZING: 


OR  THE  USE  OF 

CHLORIDE  OE  ZINC 

FOR  PRESERVING 

TIMBER,  CORDAGE,  CANVAS, 

—  AND  — 

COTTON  AND  WOOLEN  FABRICS 

FROM 

WET  AND  DRY  ROT,  MILDEW,  RAPID  COMBUSTION,  ETC. 

WITH  TESTIMONIALS  TO  ITS  EFFICACY; 


- .A.  Xj  S  O  , - 


NOTICES  OF  TIIE  USE  OF  CHLORIDE  OF  ZINC  IN 
DEODORIZING  AND  PURIFYING 

VESSELS’  HOLDS,  CELLARS,  SICK  CHAMBERS,  SINKS,  VAULTS,  ETC. 


PRINTED  FOR 

LOVIS,  HODGES  &  SILSBEE, 

PROPRIETORS  OF  THE 

Mattapannock  Chemical  and  Burnettizing  Works,  South  Boston. 

OFFICE,  63  &  67  WATER  STREET,  BOSTON. 


PRENTISS,  SAWYER,  $  CO.’S  PRESS. 

1  8  5  9. 


CoajS 

7W 

B'% 

I  &5  9 


ADVANTAGES  OF  BURNETTIZING. 

EFFECTS  OF  CHLORIDE  OF  ZINC. 

1 

ITS  EFFECTS  ON  WOOD. 

It  hardens  and  improves  its  texture.  It  enters  into  permanent  chemical  combination  with 
the  ligneous  fibre;  aad  does  not  come  to  the  surface  of  the  wood  by  efflorescence,  like  other 
crystallizable  salts ;  and  no  amount  of  washing  or  boiling  in  water  will  remove  the  chemical 
compound  so  formed. 

It  preserves  wood  and  other  articles  from  the  adherence  of  animal  and  vegetable  parasites, 
and  also  from  the  attacks  of  insects. 

It  completely  preserves  wood  from  wet  and  dry  rot. 

It  renders  the  wood  uninflammable,  when  used  of  a  certain  requisite  strength. 

ITS  EFFECTS  ON  CANVAS,  CORDAGE,  COTTON,  &c. 

The  Preparation  preserves  these  articles  from  mildew  and  rot.  It  renders  them  more  pliable ; 
does  not  in  the  slightest  degree  discolor  them ;  and  washing  or  boiling  in  water  will  not  remove 
the  combination  from  their  fibres. 

ITS  EFFECTS  ON  WOOLEN. 

Woolen  prepared  by  this  process  will  be  preserved  from  mildew  and  rot;  it  will  not  be 
attacked  by  moths ;  and  washing  or  boiling  will  not  remove  the  combination  from  it. 

ITS  EFFECTS  ON  ANIMAL  MATTER. 

It  is  used  for  the  preservation  of  anatomical  subjects;  and  green  hides  are  effectually  pre¬ 
served  from  decomposition,  by  being  subjected  to  the  process. 

ITS  EFFECTS  ON  BILGE-WATER. 

It  completely  neutralizes  the  offensive  effluvium  arising  from  bilge-water  on  board  ships. 

A 

ITS  EFFECT  ON  METALS. 

Iron  or  other  metals  are  not  oxidated  or  dissolved,  either  when  immersed  in  the  Solution, 
or  imbedded  in  wood  prepared  in  it. 


BUKNETTIZINGr 


When  we  consider  the  enormous  consumption  of  lumber,  with  its 
great  variety  of  uses  and  frequent  exposure  to  the  destructive  action 
of  moisture,  heat,  and  imperfect  ventilation,  the  importance  of  some 
process  to  preserve  it  from  decay  can  hardly  be  estimated.  The 
value  of  such  a  process  is  not  simply  in  the  cost  of  the  material 
preserved,  great  as  that  may  be.  Its  greatest  economy  consists  in 
saving  the  expense  of  reconstruction,  as  well  as  the  inconvenience 
and  delay  of  frequent  repairs.  In  bridges,  railroad  tracks,  ship  s 
timbers  and  spars,  sills  of  houses,  &c.,  the  cost  of  replacing  is  much 
greater  than  the  fh'st  cost  of  the  lumber.  It  should  be  borne  in 
mind,  however,  that  many  of  the  cheaper  kinds  of  lumber,  when 
Burnettized,  are  more  durable  and  much  cheaper  than  the  more 
expensive  woods  unprepared. 

In  the  case  of  bridges,  another  consideration  deserves  mention. 
Of  the  many  terrible  disasters  occasioned  by  the  giving  way  of 
these  structures,  under  a  loaded  train  of  cars,  most  have  arisen 
from  the  gradual  and  unnoticed  decay  of  the  timbers,  which  might 
have  been  prevented  by  subjecting  them  to  the  preserving  process. 
As  Burnettized  stuff  is  also  comparatively  uninflammable,  another 
danger  to  which  railroad  bridges  are  exposed,  that  of  taking  fire 
by  means  of  sparks  from  the  engine,  is  greatly  lessened.  This 
last  property  entitles  the  process  to  a  careful  consideration  of  its 
utility  in  ships  and  steamboats,  where  portions  of  the  timbers  are 
extremely  liable  to  take  fire  by  the  continued  action  of  an  elevated 
temperature  from  the  heated  machinery,  boilers,  and  from  other 
causes.  The  trifling  expense  of  preparing  the  timber  is  of  little 
account,  when  the  question  is  one  of  even  partially  diminishing 


the  liability  to  the  terrible  consequences  incident  to  the  burning  of 
a  ship  at  sea. 

Burnettizing  also  protects  wood  from  the  attacks  of  insects, 
which,  in  certain  localities,  are  as  destructive  of  the  strength  and 
durability  of  timber  as  the  most  rapid  process  of  decay.  The  last 
named  advantages,  viz.,  rendering  substances  less  inflammable,  and 
protecting  from  attacks  of  insects,  though  not  contemplated  in  the 
original  claim  of  the  inventor,  are,  nevertheless,  of  great  importance, 
as  some  of  the  certificates  in  succeeding  pages  will  show. 

The  chief  object  of  this  and  other  processes  is  the  preservation 
of  wood,  cordage,  canvas,  &c.,  &c.,  from  wet  and  dry  rot  and  mildew. 
The  importance  attached  to  this,  and  the  extent  to  which  investiga¬ 
tion  and  experiment  have  been  carried,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
no  less  than  forty-seven  patents  have  been  taken  out  for  processes 
to  secure  this  result,  most  of  them  within  the  present  century. 
Of  these,  besides  Burnett’s,  the  most  generally  known  and  used, 
are  probably  kyanizing,  and  the  creasote  or  coal-tar  process. 

Kyan’s  process,  patented  in  1832,  though  attended  with  good 
results,  is  open  to  serious  objections.  Corrosive  sublimate,  or  Bi¬ 
chloride  of  mercury,  the  substance  employed,  is  very  expensive  ; 
which  is  a  sufficient  objection  to  its  general  use.  It  is,  moreover, 
a  virulent  poison,  and  the  process  requires  several  weeks  for  its 
completion.  From  the  corrosive  action  of  this  substance  upon  most 
metals,  it  cannot  be  used  in  close  iron  vessels,  the  advantages  of 
exhaustion  and  pressure  are  thus  lost  by  which  alone  can  timber 
be  thoroughly  impregnated  and  the  process  finished  in  a  few  hours. 

The  use  of  creasote,  as  it  exists  in  a  crude,  oily  matter,  distilled 
from  coal-tar,  —  patented  by  Bethell,  in  1838,  —  has  met  with 
considerable  favor  abroad,  and  is  said  to  be  effective.  This,  also,  is 
expensive,  even  in  England,  where  the  substance  employed  is  much 
cheaper  than  with  us.  It  makes  the  timber  very  offensive  and 
disagreeable  to  handle,  and  renders  it  highly  inflammable,  which 
are  serious  objections  to  its  use  above  ground. 

In  1838,  a  patent  was  granted  in  England  to  Sir  Wm.  Burnett, 
for  the  use  of  chloride  of  zinc  in  the  preservation  of  certain  animal 
and  vegetable  substances  from  decay.  This  process  has  been  ex¬ 
tensively  used  in  England,  and  more  extensively  in  this  country 
than  any  other.  The  chloride  of  zinc  has  proved  to  be  effectual, 
and  has  the  advantage  of  being  safe,  cleanly,  and  economical,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  acts  as  a  purifier. 


Burnettizing  was  introduced  in  this  country  by  Janies  B.  Francis, 
Esq.,  agent  of  the  proprietors  of  the  locks  and  canals  on  Merri¬ 
mack  River,  at  Lowell,  Massachusetts.  This  Company,  the  original 
proprietors  of  all  the  water  powers  used  by  the  extensive  Manu¬ 
facturing  Companies  of  that  city,  have  many  uses  for  lumber  in 
exposed  situations,  as  in  bridges,  locks,  dams,  sluices,  &c.  Mr. 
Francis,  their  agent,  a  distinguished  civil  engineer,  thoroughly 
examined  the  various  processes  for  preserving  timber,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  investigations  visited  some  of  the  largest  establish¬ 
ments  abroad.  Satisfied  of  the  utility  of  the  Burnett  process,  at  his 
suggestion,  and  under  his  direction,  the  works  at  Lowell  were 
erected.  These  works  were  put  up  solely  for  the  use  of  the 
Manufacturing  Companies,  but  finding  they  had  sufficient  capacity, 
large  quantities  of  lumber  have  been  prepared  there  for  other 
parties. 


Memorandum  on  the  liurnettizing  Establishment  at  Gloucester ,  England ,  carried 

on  under  the  direction  of  I.  K.  Brunei,  Civil  Engineer.  By  Jas.  B.  Francis. 

In  June,  1851,  I  visited  an  extensive  establishment  for  Bumettizing  timber, 
at  Gloucester,  which  was  in  active  operation  preparing  timber  for  railway 
purposes. 

The  timber  in  course  of  preparation  was  principally  the  white  or  Cana¬ 
dian  pine,  for  the  longitudinal  sills,  commonly  used  in  England,  for  the 
continuous  bearing  of  the  bridge  rail ;  the  dimensions  of  the  sills  being 
thirty  feet  long,  seven  by  fourteen  inches. 

There  are,  at  this  establishment,  live  cylindrical  tanks  of  boiler  iron,  each 
about  sixty  feet  long  and  six  feet  in  diameter ;  narrow  railway  tracks  are 
laid  through  the  tanks,  on  which  run  small  trucks  on  which  the  timber  is 
loaded  ;  several  trucks  are  usually  used  for  each  charge.  One  head  of  the 
tank  is  entirely  removed,  when  a  charge  is  put  in  or  withdrawn,  and  a  man¬ 
hole  through  the  other  head  gives  ready  means  of  applying  a  windlass  for 
moving  the  loaded  trucks. 

After  the  heads  are  packed,  a  partial  vacuum  (usually  from  twelve  to  six¬ 
teen  inches  of  mercury)  is  obtained,  by  means  of  air-pumps  driven  by  steam 
power ;  this  is  maintained  about  twenty  minutes ;  the  dilute  solution  of 
chloride  of  zinc  is  then  permitted  to  flow  in  ;  this  occupies  about  eight  min¬ 
utes  ;  the  force  pumps  are  then  applied,  requiring  about  fifteen  minutes  to 
get  up  the  pressure,  which  was  stated  to  be  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds 
to  the  square  inch  ;  this  pressure  is  maintained  until  the  timber  has  taken 
up  thirty  imperial  gallons  of  the  dilute  solution  to  each  load  of  fifty  cubic 
feet,  and  requiring  from  two  to  four  hours,  —  depending  upon  the  size  and 
state  of  dryness  of  the  timber.  It  was  considered  important  that  all  timber 


in  the  same  charge  should  be  of  nearly  uniform  size  and  dryness,  as  other¬ 
wise  the  smaller  and  dryer  timber  would  take  up  an  undue  share  of  the 
solution,  and  leave  the  larger  and  less  dry  timber  with  less  than  thirty  gallons 
to  the  load. 

The  quantity  of  solution  taken  up  by  the  timber  is  ascertained  by  noticing 
the  depths  in  the  cistern  from  which  it  is  pumped  ;  after  the  pressure  is  once 
obtained,  it  is  kept  up  until  the  proper  quantity  is  taken  up. 

It  was  stated  by  the  resident  engineer,  that  the  concentrated  solution  was 
purchased  of  the  proprietors  of  Burnett’s  patent,  at  the  rate  of  threepence 
sterling  per  imperial  pint,  each  pint  giving,  on  evaporation,  one  pound  of  dry 
chloride  of  zinc.  There  was,  also,  usually  paid  a  royalty  of  two  shillings 
and  sixpence  sterling  per  load,  for  the  patent  right ;  but  this  was,  of  course, 
subject  to  special  agreement.  The  concentrated  solution  is  transported  in 
jars  of  stoneware,  holding  seven  gallons  each ;  these  are  charged  at  five 
shillings  sterling  each,  which  is  allowed,  however,  when  they  are  returned. 
The  strength  of  the  dilute  solution,  as  used,  was  stated  to  be  one  gallon  of 
the  concentrated  solution  to  thirty  gallons  of  water,  for  all  timber  prepared 
for  the  Yale  of  Neath  Railway  ;  and  one  gallon  to  forty  gallons,  for  the  tim¬ 
ber  prepared  for  the  Oxford,  Worcester  and  Wolverhampton,  and  the  Oxford 
and  Birmingham  Railways.  Omitting  the  small  quantity  of  water  contained 
in  the  concentrated  solution,  the  dilute  solution  for  the  Vale  of  Neath  Rail¬ 
way  is  two  and  two-thirds  pounds  of  dry  chloride  to  one  hundred  pounds 
of  water,  and,  for  the  other  two  railways,  two  pounds  to  the  hundred  ;  and 
the  amount  of  dry  chloride  taken  up  by  the  timber  for  the  Vale  of  Neath 
Railway  is  about  one-sixth  of  a  pound  to  the  cubic  foot,  and  by  the  timber 
for  the  other  two  railways,  about  one-eighth  of  a  pound  to  the  cubic  foot. 
If  the  concentrated  solution  is  55  per  cent,  dry  chloride,  this  is  4.65  ounces 
of  the  concentrated  solution  to  the  cubic  foot  for  the  Vale  of  Neath  Railway, 
and  3.49  ounces  to  the  cubic  foot  for  the  others. 

The  process  was  all  done  by  a  contractor,  who  also  owned  the  apparatus  ; 
every  part  of  the  process  was,  however,  done  under  the  immediate  super¬ 
vision  of  persons  employed  by  Mr.  Brunei ;  and,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  it 
seemed  to  be  faithfully  and  thoroughly  done. 

It  was  stated  that  the  contractor  received  sLxteen  shillings  sterling  per  load 
of  fifty  cubic  feet ;  which  is  equivalent  to  $6.40  per  thousand  feet,  board 
measure. 


Extracts  from  a  paper  recently  read  before  the  Society  of  Arts  in  England,  on 
“  Timber  for  Ship  Building.” 

“  It  appears  that  the  aggregate  tonnage  of  the  merchant  shipping  of  the 
United  Kingdom  was,  last  year,  4,325,242  tons  ;  and  that  of  the  Royal 
Navy  is  certainly  not  less  than  1,000,000  tons  more.  When  we  consider 
that  a  very  large  proportion  of  these  vessels  are  built  entirely  of  wood,  and 
that,  in  twenty  years  at  the  farthest,  these  magnificent  fleets  will  have  fallen 
into  decay  and  disappeared,  wc  may  well  view  with  interest  any  attempt  to 


point  out  the  means  of  increasing  the  durability  of  the  materials  of  which 
they  are  composed.  In  addition  to  the  demands  made  for  timber  for  these 
purposes,  it  appears  that  ten  times  as  much  is  required  for  the  construction 
and  repair  of  buildings,  implements  of  husbandry,  machinery,  canals,  docks, 
bridges,  &c.” 

“  The  best  of  woods,  when  made  into  a  ship,  will  exhibit  decay  much 
sooner  than  they  should  do.  And  why  ?  In  my  humble  opinion,  it  is  be¬ 
cause  ship  builders  and  ship  owners  will  not  adopt  the  simple  but  efficacious 
means  which  chemical  science,  confirmed  by  ample  experience,  offers  them. 
Long  years  of  practical  experiment  has  shown  that  timber,  however  prone  to 
dry  rot  or  to  wet  rot,  may  be  effectually  preserved  from  both  by  the  use  of 
certain  metallic  solutions,  or  other  suitable  protective  matters.  These  are  all 
such  simple,  well  known  remedies,  that  almost  everybody  has  heard  of  them, 
and  yet  it  is  positively  true  that  neither  the  Admiralty  nor  the  merchant- 
ship  owner  has  yet  built  one  single  ship  in  which  these  principles  have  been 
intelligently  and  thoroughly  carried  out.  A  reasonable  and  an  undoubtedly 
shrewd  man  of  business  will  have  a  fine  ship  built,  at  a  cost,  perhaps,  of 
£•5,000,  and  yet  he  will  not  spend  another  £200  in  rendering  her  timbers  ex¬ 
empt  from  the  attacks  of  insects  and  from  rot.” 


F.  Hewson,  Esq.,  civil  engineer,  in  an  article  published  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  advocates  a  process  for  saturating 
timber  by  capillary  attraction,  which,  from  its  simplicity,  is  worthy 
of  attention.  From  his  interesting  paper  we  extract  the  fol¬ 
lowing  :  — 

“  The  use  of  timber  upon  our  railroads  is  considered  indispensable  ;  it  is 
everywhere  found  in  the  substructure  of  our  tracks,  and  forms  the  chief  ma¬ 
terial  of  our  bridges  ;  its  renewal  is  the  most  expensive  item  of  repairs.  The 
life  of  a  sill  seldom  extends  longer  than  eight  years,  and  the  rate  of  annual 
depreciation  being  12£  per  cent,  can  be  applied  to  the  estimate  for  the  dura¬ 
bility  of  the  bridges  and  those  structures  which  are  unprotected  against  the 
assaults  of  heat  and  moisture,  the  active  and  unfailing  agents  of  decay. 

“The  close  of  the  first  octennial  period  in  the  existence  of  a  railroad  track 
is  marked  by  the  entire  renewal  of  its  wooden  superstructure,  involving  an 
additional  expenditure  for  labor.  Upon  the  25,000  miles  of  railway  lines  in 
the  United  States,  it  is  estimated  that  3,125  miles  of  the  timber  superstruc¬ 
ture  of  their  track  are  annually  renewed,  requiring  an  outlay  of  $3,500,000 
to  furnish  the  supply.  Sir  Wm.  Burnett’s  process  employs  the  chloride  of 
zinc.  It  has  been  successfully  tested  on  the  Hanoverian  and  the  Cologne 
and  Minden  lines,  and  has  been  used  on  the  Oxford,  Worcester  and  Wolver¬ 
hampton,  the  Oxford  and  Birmingham,  and  the  Yale  of  Neath  railways. 
Brunei  has  taken  an  active  part  in  its  introduction  on  the  public  works  of 
England.  There  has  been  a  want  of  confidence  relative  to  the  treatment  of 
timber  by  other  systems.” 


8 


Our  apparatus  was  put  up  at  the  Mattapannock  Chemical  Works, 
in  gouth  Boston,  in  the  autumn  of  1857,  but  was  not  used  until  the 
following  spring.  During  the  past  season,  we  Burnettized  neatly  a 
million  feet  of  lumber,  chiefly  for  the  horse  railroads  in  this  vicinity. 
The  lumber  for  all  of  which  roads  is  prepared  by  this  process. 
We  have  also  prepared  lumber  for  a  variety  of  uses,  as  piles,  fences, 
sills,  cellar  floors,  hydrant  boxes,  also  for  embankments,  and  some 
large  bridge  timbers. 

Our  apparatus,  essentially  the  same  as  that  at  Lowell,  consists  of 
a  cylinder  of  stout  boiler  iron,  with  heavy  cast  iron  heads,  and 
made  to  sustain  a  pressure  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  to  the 
square  inch.  It  is  sixty-one  feet  long  and  five  feet  diameter  inside. 
One  head  swings  on  heavy  hinges  which  admits  of  its  being  opened 
and  shut  conveniently.  A  railroad  track  runs  the  whole  length  of 
the  cylinder  and  extends  outside  the  same  distance.  On  this  track 
run  two  low  carriages  thirty  feet  long,  each,  which  can  be  loaded 
separately,  or  united,  if  needed  for  very  long  timbers.  These 
carriages  are  loaded  outside,  the  lumber  chained  down  to  prevent 
floating,  and  rolled  into  the  cylinder ;  the  door  is  then  closed 
securely  upon  a  rubber  packing.  The  air  pump,  worked  by 
steam,  is  then  put  in  motion,  and  shortly  a  vacuum  of  from 
twenty-three  to  twenty-eight  inches  of  mercury  is  produced.  This 
is  maintained,  by  the  continued  action  of  the  pump,  from  an  hour 
and  a  half  to  two  hours,  according  to  circumstances.  A  large 
cock,  in  the  pipe  which  connects  the  cylinder  with  the  reservoir 
below,  containing  the  chloride  of  zinc  solution,  is  then  opened,  and 
the  cylinder  is  quickly  filled  by  atmospheric  pressure.  The  cock  is 
then  closed.  The  air  pump  is  kept  in  motion  some  time  longer,  to 
remove  any  air  that  may  be  contained  in  the  solution,  and  to  keep 
the  pores  of  the  wood  thoroughly  open,  for  its  mere  perfect  absorp¬ 
tion.  At  a  proper  time,  the  cock  in  the  air  pipe  is  also  closed  and 
the  pump  stopped. 

The  lumber  is  then  subjected  to  a  pressure  of  125  to  130  pounds 
to  the  inch,  by  means  of  a  steam  force  pump,  which  is  maintained 
for  an  hour  or  two,  according  to  the  size  and  character  ot  the  lumber. 
We  exhaust  for  a  greater  length  of  time  than  is  usually  practised, 
as  we  consider  this  to  be  the  most  important  part  of  the  process. 
The  pressure  would  be  of  little  service,  however  great,  unless  the 
pores  of  the  wood  were  previously  freed  of  air  and  sap.  At  the 


9 


close  of  the  above  processes,  the  door  is  opened  and  the  lumber 
removed. 

Our  works  are  situated  upon  tide  water,  outside  all  bridges,  so 
that  lumber  vessels,  not  drawing  over  nine  feet,  can  discharge  there 
with  ease,  thus  saving  all  cost  of  teaming. 

The  chloride  of  zinc  is  manufactured  at  our  Chemical  Works 
expressly  for  our  own  use,  and  is  also  supplied  by  us  in  any  quantity 
desired,  in  the  form  of  a  concentrated  solution. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  horse  railroads,  we  put  up  the  past 
season,  machinery  for  planing  and  sawing  and  a  machine  for  slotting 
the  ties.  We  are  able,  therefore,  to  prepare  the  timber  for  these 
tracks  in  any  desired  form,  and  Burnettize  without  removing  it  from 
our  yard. 


The  prices  for  Burnettizing  are 

For  spruce  lumber, 

For  all  other  kinds  of  lumber, 

For  spruce  shingles, 

For  other  kinds  of  shingles,  . 


$5.00  per  1000  feet,  board  measure. 
6.00  “  “  “  “  “ 

.67  per  1000. 

.75  “  “ 


Spruce  is  prepared  at  a  lower  price,  as  it  absorbs  less  of  the 
solution  than  pine  or  other  lumber  commonly  used.  Most  of  the 
lumber  prepared  at  our  works  has  been  spruce,  which  is  used 
altogether  for  the  horse  railroads  in  Boston  and  vicinity.  This 
wood,  which  unprepared  is  extremely  perishable,  proves,  when 
Burnettized,  to  be  very  durable.  “  The  most  remarkable  instances 
of  the  preservation  of  wood  by  Burnettizing”—  says  Mr.  Francis  — 
“  are  in  some  of  the  woods  which  decay  with  such  rapidity  as  to 
be  almost  valueless.  Poplar,  for  instance,  is  useless  in  its  natural 
state,  as  a  fencing  material.  Trials  at  Lowell,  however,  show  that, 
when  Burnettized,  poplar  is  a  durable  wood,  and  apparently  as 
serviceable  as  chestnut,  for  posts.”* 

Burnettized  spruce,  poplar,  &c.,  can  be  used  with  as  good  results, 
to  say  the  least,  as  the  more  expensive  hard  woods  heretofore  con¬ 
sidered  essential  in  exposed  situations.  Longer  experience  will 
probably  confirm  the  opinion  that  they  are  much  more  lasting. 
The  cost  of  prepared  spruce,  &c.,  is  much  less  than  the  unprepared 
hard  woods. 


#  See  also  the  certificate  of  Mr.  Stark,  on  page  14,  in  reference  to  White  Birch. 
O 


10 


It  is  best,  when  practicable,  to  use  green  or  unseasoned  lumber 
for  Burnettizing,  as  the  cells  of  the  wood  are  then  open  and  can  be 
thoroughly  impregnated  with  the  Solution.  With  seasoned  wood, 
there  is  more  difficulty,  as  in  drying,  the  wood  contracts,  and  greater 
resistance  is  offered  to  the  introduction  of  the  liquid.  In  either 
case,  however,  the  durability  of  the  wood  is  materially  increased. 
In  addition  to  its  other  advantages,  Burnettizing  greatly  diminishes 
the  liability  of  timber  to  warp  and  “  check,”  which  have  proved 
serious  objections  to  the  use  of  unprepared  spruce,  hemlock,  &c.,  in 
situations  where,  when  prepared,  they  are  now  largely  employed. 
It  is  also  claimed,  and  with  reason,  that  the  wear  of  timber  is  much 
improved  from  the  increased  density  imparted  by  this  process. 

The  oidy  instance  of  apparent  failure  in  Burnettizing  that  has 
come  to  our  notice  is  in  the  case  of  a  Bridge  on  the  Boston  and  Lowell 
Railroad,  which  crosses  an  arm  of  the  sea  near  Boston.  “The  su¬ 
perstructure  of  this  bridge  was  rebuilt  in  1850,  principally  of  second 
growth  or  sapling  pine  ;  this  is  the  white  pine  that  has  grown  up 
rapidly  on  land  from  which  the  original  growth  has  been  cleared, 
and  has  a  very  large  amount  of  sap  wood.  It  was  Burnettized  at 
the  Lowell  establishment,  but  the  sap  wood  has  decayed  to  a  great 
extent.” 

It  would  appear,  therefore,  from  the  above,  that  the  process  has 
not  succeeded,  as  applied  to  this  particular  kind  of  wood.  It  seems 
not  improbable,  however,  that  the  ill  success  in  this  instance  may 
be  attributable  to  some  unknown  cause,  since  the  experience  of  the 
Lowell  Bleachery  gives  sapling  pine,  Burnettized,  as  good  a  char¬ 
acter  for  durability  as  other  woods.  (See  p.  12.) 

Lumber  prepared  at  our  works  has  not  been  in  use  long  enough 
to  enable  us  to  give  any  testimonials  of  our  own  as  to  its  durability. 
Our  process  is,  however,  the  same  as  that  in  use  at  the  Lowell 
works,  which  have  been  in  operation  for  nine  years.  Of  the  results 
of  Burnettizing  there,  important  testimony  lias  been  given,  which, 
by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Francis,  we  are  permitted  to  make  use  of, 
together  with  other  valuable  information  which  he  has  t:d<en  pains 
to  collect. 

LOVIS,  HODGES  &  SILSBEE, 

Proprietors  of  the  Mattapannock  Chemical  and  Burnettizing  Works, 

South  Boston. 


11 


The  following  letter  gives  the  valuable  experience  of  Mr.  Stake, 
in  the  use  of  Burnettized  stuff  for  Railroad  Sleepers. 


Boston  &  Lowell  and  Nashua  &  Lowell  Railroads, 
Manager’s  Office,  Nashua,  N.  H.,  April  29,  1858. 

Messrs.  Lovis  &  Hodges,  South  Boston. 

Gentlemen,  —  In  answer  to  your  letter  enquiring  my  opinion  of  the 
advantage  of  the  Burnettizing  process  in  its  application  to  lumber,  &c., 
I  have  to  say  that,  my  attention  was  called  to  the  subject  some  years  since, 
by  the  rapid  decay  of  the  wooden  track  ties  upon  our  roads,  and  a  careful 
investigation  led  me  to  recommend  the  construction  of  a  small  set  of  Bur¬ 
nettizing  Works,  for  the  express  use  of  our  Company.  The  works  were 
constructed  in  1854  ;  since  which,  we  have  put  down  no  ties  in  the  Nashua 
and  Lowell  track  that  were  not  first  prepared  by  this  process,  and  I  have 
seen  no  reason  as  yet  to  doubt  the  expediency  of  the  measure.  Our  ties  are 
mostly  chestnut,  but  we  have  now  in  the  track  a  considerable  number  of  the 
more  perishable  kinds  of  wood,  such  as  birch,  maple,  and  all  the  varieties 
of  oak,  some  of  which,  as  the  white  birch  and  black  oak,  are  known  to  be 
particularly  liable  to  rapid  decay  when  put  into  the  ground  in  a  natural  and 
unseasoned  state.  A  trial  of  four  years  shows  even  these  perishable  woods 
to  be  about  as  sound  as  when  first  put  down.  My  observation  on  these  and 
other  specimens  which  have  been  experimented  upon  elsewhere,  for  a  longer 
time,  leads  me  to  believe  that  Railroad  Ties,  properly  prepared  by  this  pro¬ 
cess,  will  not  decay  within  the  time  required  to  wear  them  out  by  the  cutting 
action  of  the  rail.  Or  in  other  words,  that  the  process  adds  not  less  than 
fifty  per  cent,  to  the  life  of  a  Railroad  Tie,  and  probably  a  much  larger  per 
cent,  to  the  life  of  some  varieties  of  timber,  where  it  is  exposed  to  no  other 
deterioration  than  natural  decay. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Geo.  Stark. 


“  Numerous  statements  of  the  effects  of  Burnettizing  might  be 
given.  The  following  are  mostly  from  persons  well  known  in 
Lowell,  who  can  be  seen,  personally,  by  parties  interested.  The 
most  important  statement,  because  based  on  the  largest  experience, 
is  that  from  the  agent  of  the  Lowell  Bleachery.  This  great  estab¬ 
lishment,  where  more  than  thirty  millions  of  yards  of  cotton  goods 
are  bleached  and  dyed  annually,  has,  on  its  premises,  a  great  num¬ 
ber  of  buildings,  equivalent  to  a  small  town  ;  and,  from  the  nature 
of  the  processes  carried  on  in  them,  large  portions  of  the  wood 
work  are  liable  to  very  rapid  decay,  and  the  expense  and  inter¬ 
ruption,  arising  from  frequent  renewals,  have  been  very  serious. 


2 


12 


The  experience  of  the  last  nine  years,  at  this  establishment,  indi¬ 
cates  that  Burnettizing  remedies  the  evil  to  a  very  great  extent.” 


Lowell  Bleachery  and  Dye  Works, 
September  1,  1856. 

Dear  Sir, — We  have,  since  1850,  had  about  800,000  feet  of  lumber 
Burnettized  at  your  works.  This  we  have  used  for  walks,  drains,  runs,  and 
buildings.  Many  of  our  rooms  are  wet  and  full  of  steam  ;  and  in  them, 
boards,  planks,  and  beams,  not  prepared  by  your  process,  decay  very 
quickly. 

Of  the  above  amount  of  lumber  received  from  you,  —  some  of  it  in  use 
now  for  six  years,  —  we  have  not  found  one  instance  of  rot,  nor  indeed  any 
appearance  of  change.  As  special  instances  of  the  advantage  of  Bumett- 
izing,  our  walks  and  dye-house  floors  are  very  striking.  In  1850,  we  laid, 
of  Burnettized  hard  pine,  the  chief  portion  of  the  walk,  which  leads,  in  the 
open  air,  from  our  bleachery  to  one  of  the  dry-sheds,  a  distance  of  some 
two  hundred  feet.  Out  of  the  same  lot  of  lumber  used  for  this,  we  retained 
a  portion,  and  laid  it  side  by  side  with  the  Burnettized  plank.  The  latter  is 
now  sound  as  on  the  day  it  was  laid,  while  the  former  is  wholly  decayed. 

Some  years  ago,  we  built  a  portion  of  our  dye-house  of  Burnettized  stuff; 
one  year  later,  we  laid  a  floor  in  a  similar  room  of  unprepared  board ;  the 
former  is  perfectly  sound,  the  latter  has  "been  entirely  decayed  for  a  year. 
Our  ground  walks,  laid  with  common  spruce,  would  not  last  two  years  ; 
while  one  which  we  have  laid  in  Burnettized  spruce,  has  stood  for  six  years, 
and  shows  no  signs  of  rot. 

We  have  had  prepared  by  you,  spruce  and  white,  sapling,  and  hard  pine, 
and  as  to  freedom  from  decay,  they  are  all  alike,  after  a  test  of  from  five  to 
six  years.  Maple  we  have  also  tried,  but  not  long  enough  to  know  the 
comparative  result.  All  the  shingles  and  clapboards  we  use  are  Bumett- 
ized,  and  with  the  same  favorable  effect. 

The  advantages  of  this  process  have  been,  and  are,  to  us  very  great,  and 
we  shall  have  much  pleasure  in  showing  to  any,  who  may  desire,  the  practical 
test  of  Burnettized  lumber,  as  seen  in  our  establishment. 

I  am,  very  respectfully  yours, 

F.  P.  Appleton,  Agent  Lowell  Bleachery. 

To  James  B.  Francis,  Esq.,  Agent  Proprietors 

of  Locks  and  Canals,  Lowell,  Mass. 


Lowell  Bi.eaciiery  and  Dye  Works, 
May  2d,  1859. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Since  giving  you  an  account,  some  two  and  a  half  years  ago, 
of  our  experience  in  Burnettized  wood,  we  have  had  nearly  200,000  feet 
prepared  at  your  works.  In  every  respect,  the  result  has  been  satisfactory 
as  before. 


13 


In  regard  to  the  lumber,  which  has  been  exposed  on  our  walks  and  in  our 
buildings  —  some  of  it  for  nine  years,  —  I  see  no  reason  to  change,  in  any 
way,  the  opinion  I  gave  you  in  1856.  The  wood  looks  as  sound,  and 
appears  in  every  way  in  as  good  condition,  as  at  first.  In  one  instance,  and 
in  one  only,  have  I  found  the  least  sign  of  decay.  In  taking  down  a  portion 
of  a  walk,  I  noticed  where  some  Burnettized  pine  plank  lay  on  stringers 
not  Burnettized,  the  latter  being  decayed  throughout,  that  the  plank,  where 
it  was  spiked  to  the  stringers,  showed  some  symptoms  of  rot ;  this  plank 
has  been  exposed  seven  years.  In  no  instance,  however,  have  I  iound  spruce 
other  than  perfectly  sound,  and  I  think  it  would  be  hard  to  make  a  severer 
test  of  the  worth  of  your  process  than  we  have  given. 

I  should  be  glad  to  give  more  detailed  information  to  any  who  may  desire 
it,  and  am,  Very  respectfully,  yours, 

F.  P.  Appleton,  Agent, 

James  B.  Francis,  Esq.,  Agent,  &c. 


Merrimack  Printert,  Lowell, 
September  9,  1856. 

To  James  B.  Francis,  Esq.,  Agent 

Proprietors  of  Locks  and  Canals. 

Dear  Sir, — The  following  comprises  the  results  of  Bumettizing,  so  far 
as  timber  thus  prepared  has  been  used  in  the  print  yard  :  — 

1.  White  Spruce,  eight  by  eight  inches;  two  sticks  were  framed  as 
braces  between  two  gate  posts,  and  set  with  these  in  the  earth  in  1851.  A 
few  days  since,  the  gate  was  removed.  The  spruce,  down  five  years,  is 
found  perfectly  sound.  See  samples  in  paper  A. 

2.  White  Pine,  old  growth,  formed  the  posts  of  the  gate  above,  not 
Burnettized,  and  as  perfectly  sound;  but  White  Pine,  second  growth, 
Burnettized,  and  used  as  the  bottom  of  a  fence,  and  painted,  is  found  at  the 
end  of  five  years  generally  decayed  on  surface.  See  samples,  paper  B. 

3.  Chestnut,  Burnettized,  stringers  to  the  above  fence,  and  painted,  is 
found  decayed  where  framed  into  posts  of  Burnettized  Chestnut,  (Paper  C.) 
These  posts  are  all  decayed  externally  where  buried.  Down  five  years. 

4.  Sugar  Maple,  old  growth,  and  very  large  logs,  used  foriollers  in 
washing  machines  and  mangles.  This  timber,  whether  the  bark  is  on  or  off, 
housed  or  exposed,  decays  in  about  two  years,  and  is  useless  for  the  above 
purposes  ;  if  this  same  timber  is  Burnettized,  it  remains  sound  under  the 
same  circumstances  an  indefinite  period  ;  —  our  experience  dates  back  to 
the  time  you  commenced  Bumettizing.  Hollers  of  this  timber  decay  not ; 
un-Burnettized,  they  are  kept  from  rotting  by  the  various  chemical  agents 
with  which  they  come  in  contact ;  rarely  is  a  partial  decaj’  (and  that  on  the 
end  only)  seen.  The  rollers  wear  out  rapidly  by  attrition.  If  new  rollers 
are  made  from  Burnettized  Maple,  even  the  partial  decay  is  prevented,  and 
the  wood  is  condensed  and  hardened,  so  that  such  rollers  wear  very  much  less, 
and  their  usefulness  is  preserved.  In  this  view,  Bumettizing  is  of  the  highest 
value. 


14 


I  may  add,  that  Bumettizing  prevents  neither  decay  nor  the  wearing 
effects  of  attrition,  when  used  for  mangle  rollers,  with  hot  starch. 

With  great  regard,  very  truly  yours, 

Samuel  L.  Dana,  Chemist,  attached  to  Merrimack 
Manufacturing  Co.’s  Printery. 


Boston  &  Lowell  and  Nashua  &  Lowell  Railroads. 

Manager’s  Office,  Boston,  May  2d,  1859. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  Bumettizing  Works,  erected  by  the  Nashua  and  Lowell 
Railroad  Company,  some  five  years  ago,  at  Nashua,  for  the  preparation  of 
ties  and  other  timber  used  upon  tlieir  road,  are  still  in  active  operation,  and 
we  are  now  enlarging  the  cylinder  and  tanks  to  a  sufficient  capacity  for 
Bumettizing  nearly  all  of  the  unseasoned  timber  required  for  use  on  our 
associated  roads. 

Our  attempts  to  impregnate  some  kinds  of  seasoned  timber  have  proved 
a  failure,  but  I  am  fully  satisfied  that  the  cost  of  the  process,  when  properly 
conducted  upon  green  timber,  is  much  more  than  repaid  to  us  in  the  addi¬ 
tional  life  of  the  wood. 

We  have  some  black  oak  ties  in  one  of  our  tracks,  prepared  at  your  works 
about  eight  years  ago,  which  are  perfectly  sound  and  apparently  as  good, 
excepting  the  wear,  as  on  the  day  they  were  put  down.  Similar  ties,  m 
their  natural  condition,  only  last,  on  an  average,  five  or  six  years. 

Our  own  work  has  not  yet  stood  long  enough  to  be  quoted  as  an  example, 
except  in  one  kind  of  wood.  The  common  white  birch  is  so  extremely 
perishable,  when  exposed  with  the  bark  on,  at  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
that  I  have  made  use  of  it  to  test  the  efficacy  of  the  process,  putting  down 
several  hundred  sticks,  as  ties,  each  year,  commencing  with  1854.  The 
result  is,  that  not  one  of  them  has  shown  the  slightest  symptom  of  decay. 
The  first  ones  laid  may  be  seen  at  any  time  in  the  track  leading  into  our 
round  house,  at  Nashua,  and  are  easily  recognized  by  the  bark  which  still 

adheres  to  their  sides.  Respectfully  yours, 

George  Stark,  Manager. 

J.  B.  Francis,  Esq.,  Agent,  &c. 


Lowell,  April  19,  1859. 

Dear  Sir,  —  In  the  Summer  of  1852,  we  laid  down  a  new  floor  in  the 
cellar  of  Mr.  Amos  B.  French,  confectioner,  37  Central  street,  in  this  city. 
The  under  floor  and  joists  were  spruce,  and,  at  our  suggestion,  Bumcttized. 
The  joists  were  bedded  in  the  damp  earth,  leaving  only  about  two  inches  of 
ah-  space  between  the  ground  and  the  under  floor.  This  space  was  not 
ventilated,  and,  in  our  opinion,  if  not  Burnettized,  this  floor  must  have  rotted 

so  as  to  require  renewal  several  years  ago. 

Our  Mr.  Peabody  has  this  day  seen  part  of  this  floor  taken  up  for  the 
purpose  of  examination  ;  he  found  it  in  an  exceedingly  good  state,  eonsid- 


15 


ering  the  place ;  and  although  the  sap  of  the  joist  is  somewhat  decayed,  the 
floor  is  still  strong  and  sound,  and  promises  to  last  another  seven  years  be¬ 
fore  it  will  require  to  be  renewed. 

This  and  other  similar  cases  that  have  come  to  our  knowledge  has  satisfied 
us  that  Bumettizing  wood,  which  is  to  be  used  in  places  much  liable  to 
decay,  is  a  very  useful  thing,  and  increases  the  durability  much  beyond  the 
cost.  Respectfully  yours, 

Fifield  &  Peabody,  Builders. 


To  James  B.  Francis,  Esq. 

I  fully  agree  with  Messrs.  Fifield  and  Peabody,  in  the  statement  relating 
to  the  floor  in  my  cellar.  Former  floors  in  the  same  place  have  not  lasted 
more  than  about  three  years  ;  and  the  frequent  repairs  used  to  put  me  to  great 
inconvenience  and  considerable  expense.  Amos  B.  French. 


J.  B.  Francis,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir,  —  In  answer  to  yours,  with  regard  to  the  service  of  spruce 
Burnettized  shingles,  I  would  say  that,  in  1850,  I  used  twelve  thousand  on 
my  buildings,  at  the  corner  of  Merrimack  and  Austin  streets.  I  had 
previously  used  shaved  pine,  and  was  induced  to  try  the  Burnettized  spruce, 
as  a  matter  of  economy,  it  being  represented  that  they  were  more  durable. 
In  this,  I  have  not  been  disappointed  ;  for,  on  examination,  this  spring,  I  find 
them  in  a  very  satisfactory  condition  ;  particularly  in  places  where  they 
would  naturally  give  out  first,  I  find  no  sign  of  decay ;  and,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  a  few  that  were  very  shaky,  they  appear  as  sound  as  when  first  put 
on.  Yours  truly, 

Jonathan  Johnson. 

Lowell,  April  21,  1859. 

Lowell,  April  22,  1859. 

James  B.  Francis,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir, — The  house,  No.  25  Adams  street,  which  I  built  in  1850,  is 
mostly  covered  with  Burnettized  spruce  shingles.  I  had  not  quite  enough, 
and  I  used  some  pine  shingles.  I  have  just  examined  them  and  find  the  pine 
shingles  much  decayed,  but  I  could  find  none  of  the  spruce  that  are  decayed. 
The  adjoining  house,  which  I  built  in  1819,  was  covered  with  spruce  shingles, 
not  Burnettized.  I  patched  them  up  last  year,  they  being  very  much  de¬ 
cayed,  and  must  be  entirely  renewed  very  soon. 

Since  1850,  I  have  used  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  Burnettized 
spruce  shingles,  and  I  am  fully  satisfied  that  the  Bumettizing  is  a  paying 
operation,  as  it  makes  a  durable  shingle  out  of  an  ordinary  quality  of  spruce, 
which,  without  it,  would  hardly  be  worth  putting  on. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Wm.  H.  Wiggin,  Builder. 

Shaker  Village,  N.  H.,  April  27,  1859. 

Esteemed  Friend,  —  It  is  now  almost  seven  years  since  we  put  in  the 
Burnettized  spruce  timber  and  floor  to  our  wash  house  ;  and,  upon  examin- 


ing  the  same  carefully,  this  morning,  we  can  find  no  traces  of  decay.  These 
timbers  and  floor  arc  very  much  exposed  to  wet  and  steam  —  so  much  so 
that  we  have  never  been  enabled  to  make  a  pine  floor  last  but  eight  or  nine 
years. 

AVe  have  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  success  of  Burnettized  timber,  and 
particularly  of  spruce,  and  cordially  recommend  it  to  all  to  adopt  as  real 
economy,  particularly  in  all  wet,  damp  places,  and  where  steam  is  used. 

AVe  see  no  reason  why  our  floor  may  not  last  for  many  years  more.  En¬ 
closed  we  send  you  samples  of  the  timber  as  it  now  is. 

AVith  perfect  respect, 

David  Parker,  >  Trustees 
Hobert  Shepard,  j 

James  B.  Francis,  Lowell,  Mass. 


Lowell,  May  4,  1859. 

James  B.  Francis,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir, — I  take  pleasure  in  expressing  to  you  my  very  satisfactory 
experience  as  to  the  durability  and  value  of  Burnettized  lumber.  Ordinarily, 
in  building,  the  timber  most  exposed  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  first  expense ; 
and  when  we  consider  the  importance  of  preserving  such,  it  is  quite  aston¬ 
ishing  that  the  art  of  Burnettizing  is  so  little  known  and  appreciated  by 
builders  and  mechanics.  But  so  it  is,  as  the  rotten  houses,  bridges,  and  in 
fact  everything  built  of  wood  daily  testify ;  and  men  must  be  shown,  Im¬ 
practical  experiments,  that  it  is  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents,  before  it  will 
receive  that  attention  it  deserves. 

In  the  spring  of  1851,  I  erected  a  building  40  by  28,  in  a  situation  where 
the  timber  of  the  lower  floor  was  partially  covered  with  water,  for  one  half 
of  the  time  at  least,  and  also  shut  out  entirely  from  any  circulation  of  air. 
This  I  thought  a  good  place  to  test  the  virtue  of  the  art,  and  I  sent  the 
timber  (which  was  green  spruce)  to  the  Company’s  Mill,  and  got  it  Bumett- 
ized ;  but  by  mistake  there  was  a  deficiency  of  about  a  dozen  floor  joist. 
This  lack  I  supplied  with  seasoned  timber,  of  larger  size,  and  put  it  in  the 
least  exposed  situation.  This  spring,  (1859)  I  found  a  part  of  the  floor 
giving  way,  and  on  taking  it  up,  I  found  the  timber,  that  was  not  subjected 
to  the  process,  completely  rotted  away ;  while  that  which  was  Burnettized 
was  not  only  perfectly  sound  but  as  bright  as  if  it  had  been  sawed  out 
within  thirty  days.  Arcry  truly  yours, 

J.  F.  Manahax. 

The  following  are  taken  from  the  numerous  English  testimonials :  — 

From  S.  it/.  Veto,  Esq.,  it/.  P. 

3  Great  George  Street,  AVestminster, 
8th  January,  1849. 

Sir,  —  In  answer  to  your  inquiry  respecting  some  sleepers  which  were 
prepared  for  me  by  Sir  AV.  Burnett's  process,  and  which  were  laid  down  on 
one  of  the  lines  of  railways  executed  by  me  in  the  year  1841,  I  have  to 


17 


acquaint  you  they  are  now  in  as  perfectly  sound  a  state  as  when  they  were 
first  laid,  whilst  those  that  were  put  down  in  juxtaposition  with  them  at  the 
same  time,  unprepared,  are  quite  decayed. 

I  am,  Sir,  yours  obediently, 

(Signed)  S.  M.  Pf,to. 

To  Lieut.  Jackson, 

Secretary  to  Burnett’s  Patent. 


Extract  from  the  “ Builder ,”  of  the  2 d  May ,  1846. 

The  preservation  of  timber  from  premature  decay  is  a  subject  which  affects 
so  large  a  number  of  our  readers  that  we  are  bound  to  give  the  widest  pub¬ 
licity  to  every  invention  that  appears  likely  to  effect  that  object.  The  various 
testimonials  -ye  have  received  in  favor  of  Sir  \V.  Burnett’s  process,  and  the 
time  that  has  elapsed  since  the  experiments  were  first  made,  lead  us  to  enter¬ 
tain  a  veiy  favorable  opinion  as  to  its  efficacy,  at  all  events,  for  a  long  period 
of  time.  The  effects  ascribed  to  it  are,  that  it  hardens  and  improves  its  tex¬ 
ture.  It  enters  into  permanent  chemical  combination  with  the  ligneous  fibre, 
and  does  not  come  to  the  surface  of  the  wood  by  efflorescence,  like  other 
crystallizable  salts  ;  and  no  amount  of  washing  or  boiling  in  water  will 
remove  the  chemical  compound  so  formed.  It  preserves  wood  and  other  arti¬ 
cles  from  the  adherence  of  animal  and  vegetable  parasites,  and  also  from  the 
attacks  of  insects  ;  and  from  wet  and  dry  rot.  Further,  it  renders  wood  unin¬ 
flammable,  when  used  of  a  certain  strength. 

The  basis  of  Sir  W.  Burnett’s  process  is  chloride  of  zinc,  or  as  it  is  more 
commonly  called,  muriate  of  zinc,  which  seems  to  have  a  peculiar  affinity  to 
woody  fibre,  entering  into  intimate  union  with  its  component  particles,  and 
forming  as  it  were  a  new  mineralized  substance.  There  is  a  chemical  combi¬ 
nation  of  the  metallic  base,  not  merely  a  mechanical  alteration  of  the  position 
of  matter  which  might  be  again  disunited.  There  is  no  decomposition  pro¬ 
duced,  but  the  fibre  of  the  wood  appears  to  be  permanently  pervaded  by  the 
zinc,  and  the  atoms  of  which  they  are  formed  enter  into  a  new  and  fixed 
arrangement. 


Welton  Place,  Northamptonshire, 
October,  1845. 

Bear  Sir  William,  —  I  am  happy  to  send  you  an  account  of  an  experiment 
with  the  Solution,  where  it  was  put  to  a  very  severe  trial.  Some  inch  boards 
of  elm,  sawn  up  immediately  upon  being  felled,  were  steeped  in  the  Solution, 
and  used  to  support  the  rich  earth  of  a  melon  and  cucumber  bed  constructed 
upon  what  is  termed  the  “  Tank  System  ;  ”  being  subjected  to  the  action  of 
steam  from  a  tank  of  hot  W'ater  beneath,  while  they  supported  a  body  of 
highly  manured  earth,  two  feet  in  thickness.  Other  elm-boards  were  used, 
in  part,  in  the  same  apparatus.  These  were  of  seasoned  wood  of  high 
quality.  On  examining  the  apparatus  in  the  present  October,  after  being 

3 


18 


seven  months  in  action,  the  unprepared  wood  was  permeated  by  the  spawn 
of  terrestrial  fungi  which  were  growing  on  the  under  side ;  they  had  also 
given  way  in  the  centre,  so  much  so  as  to  endanger  the  slate-covered  tank 
beneath.  The  prepared  boards  were  perfectly  straight ,  sound,  and  unaltered. 

I  am,  dear  Sir  William,  very  truly  yours, 

Richard  Trevor  Clarke. 

Sir  William  Burnett,  Iv.  C.  H.,  &c.,  Sc. 


Petworth  Park,  28th  Nov.,  1845. 


SIE)_In  answer  to  your  inquiry  as  to  my  opinion  of  Sir  William 
Burnett’s  process,  I  beg  to  inform  you  that,  after  two  years’  experience,  I 
think  so  favorably  of  it,  I  propose  using  it  on  Colonel  Wyndham’s  estate  at 
Petworth  more  extensively  than  has  been  done  hitherto. 

I  find  it  very  useful  for  preparing  oak,  gap-rails,  English  fir,  beech,  and 
all  timbers  that  are  at  all  liable  to  be  attacked  by  the  worm. 

As  the  time  required  for  simple  immersion  in  the  Patent  liquid  could  ^  not 
generally  be  spared,  Colonel  Wyndham  has  had  a  hydraulic  apparatus  fixed 
at  Petworth  which  will  enable  much  larger  quantities  of  timber  being  pre¬ 


pared  ;  to  which  he  now  proposes  to  add  a  small  steam-engine. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

To  C.  Jackson,  Esq.  ’  H™  UpT0*' 

Secretary  of  Sir  William  Burnett’s  Patent. 


Copy  of  Report,  dated  Charleville  Forest,  Ireland,  \2th  January,  1843. 

Sm,  —  I  have  been  using  extensively,  on  the  Earl  of  Charleville  s 
Estate,  Sir  William  Burnett’s  Patent  Solution  for  the  prevention  of  dry'  rot, 
&c.,  in  timber,  since  June,  1840.  All  the  timber  so  prepared  has  a  very 
satisfactory  appearance  ;  I  consider  it  quite  as  good  for  seasoning  timber, 
and  preferable  to  the  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate  for  timber  that  is  to  be 
worked  on  the  bench ;  —  it  does  not  leave  that  gritty  substance  on  the  surface 
that  is  left  from  corrosive  sublimate,  which  is  so  injurious  to  the  plane-irons. 
I  have  also  had  a  large  quantity  of  small  poles,  or  tops,  prepared  principally 
of  Scotch  fir,  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  consequently 
they  are  nearly  all  sap.  They  have  been  in  use  about  two  years  in  what 
is  commonly  called  American  paling.  I  find,  on  examining  them,  that 
they  are  as  sound  between  wind  and  water,  as  when  put  into  the  ground. 

(Signed)  E-  Tong, 

To  the  Secretary,  Burnett’s  Patent.  Foreman  to  the  Earl  of  Charleville. 


Woolwich  Yard,  15th  July,  1841. 

gIR) _ Agreeably  to  your  memo,  of  this  day’s  date,  we  have  to  acquaint 

you  that  we  have  examined  the  several  specimens  of  timber  which  have  been 


19 


prepared  by  Sir  William  Burnett,  and  deposited  in  the  fungus  pit  at  this 
Yard,  and  find  their  state  to  be  as  follows,  viz.  :  — 


Prepared. 

English  Oak.  —  Perfectly  sound . 

English  Elm.  —  Perfectly  sound. 
Dantzic  Fir.  —  Perfectly  sound. 


Unprepared, 

English  Oak.  —  Has  a  small  spot  of 
f  ungus  on  the  end. 

English  Elm.  — Doaty. 

Dantzic  Fir.  —  lias  fungus  on  the 
outside,  and  is  decayed  in  the  heart. 


We  are,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

O.  Lang,  It.  Abethell. 

Master  Shipwright.  Assistant  to  the  Master  Shipwright. 

P.  S. — The  prepared  and  unprepared  deposited  in  the  pit  the  25th 
August,  1836. 

To  Capt.  Superintendent  Hornry,  It.  N.,  C.  B. 

N.  B.  —  Some  pieces  of  prepared  and  unprepared  canvas  and  calico  were 
also  placed  in  the  fungus  pit  at  the  same  time,  and  on  its  being  opened  in 
May,  1838,  for  the  inspection  of  its  contents,  the  Official  Report  stated  that, 
as  regarded  the  canvas  and  calico,  the  experiment  was  decisive  and  conclu¬ 
sive,  the  prepared  being  but  slightly  injured,  and  in  some  cases  not  at  all, 
whilst  the  unprepared  was  entirely  destroyed. 


Royal  Dockyard,  Sheerness, 
29th  April,  1839. 

Sir,  —  In  reply  to  Sir  William  Burnett’s  inquiry  relating  to  some  pieces 
of  wood  prepared  by  him,  and  sent  to  this  Yard  to  ascertain  the  effects  pro¬ 
duced  on  them  when  subject  for  a  given  period  to  a  submarine  immersion  ; 
and  whether,  during  that  immersion,  any  effect  was  produced  by  the  prepar¬ 
ation  on  the  iron  nails  with  which  they  were  necessarily  secured  to  the  piles 
under  water  ;  I  beg  to  state  that  it  is  my  decided  opinion  the  preparation  on 
prepared  pieces  of  wood  has  had  no  injurious  effect  on  the  iron  nails  by 
which  they  were  fastened,  nor  does  the  preparation  appear  in  any  way  to 
hasten  the  oxydation  of  the  metal.  I  subjected  two  pieces  of  wood  at  the 
same  time  (and  of  the  same  kind,)  one  prepared,  the  other  not,  and,  from  a 
careful  examination  afterwards,  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the 
preparation  does  not  hasten  the  oxydation  of  metal,  and,  on  com¬ 
parison  WITn  the  unprepared  portion,  appears  to  retard  it. 

The  wood  was  two  years  subjected  to  this  experiment. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  Mitchell, 

To  Dr.  Warden.  Civil  Engineer. 


20 


PROTECTION  OF  WOOD  FROM  FIRE. 

Admiralty,  19th  June,  1844. 

Sir,  —  My  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  having  caused  experi¬ 
ments  to  be  made  to  test  the  incombustibility  of  woods,  when  saturated  in 
your  Solution,  I  am  commanded  by  their  Lordships  to  acquaint  you  that  it 
has  been  ascertained  that  the  soft  woods,  such  as  yellow  pine  and  other 
deals,  both  Foreign  and  English,  saturated  in  Solution  prepared  in  certain 
proportions,  when  exposed  to  the  immediate  contact  of  iron  heated  to  a 
blood-red  heat,  did  not  at  all  ignite  into  flame  ;  whereas,  unprepared  wood  of 
the  same  kind  burst  into  flame  immediately. 

The  same  effects,  however,  are  not  produced  in  the  same  degree  by  the 
same  process  upon  the  bard  woods.  I  am  Sir, 

Your  most  humble  servant, 

Sir  William  Burnett,  Iv.  C.  II.  (Signed)  John  Barrow. 

Admiralty,  14th  August,  1845. 

Sir,  — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  9th  instant,  with  its  inclosure  from 
Sir  William  Burnett,  I  am  commanded  by  my  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty  to  transmit  to  you,  for  the  information  of  Lord  Stanley,  a  copy 
of  a  Report  from  the  offleers  of  Portsmouth  Yard,  upon  the  effects  of  his 
Solution  applied  to  the  purpose  of  preventing  ignition  in  timber,  or  rather 
to  prevent  it  breaking  into  flames.  In  consequence  of  that  report,  my  lords 
have  ordered  the  bulkheads  in  the  holds  and  magazines  in  Her  Majesty’s 
ships  to  be  fitted  with  timber  so  saturated,  and  it  is  also  applied  largely  to 
the  various  buildings  in  Her  Majesty’s  dock  yards. 

(Signed)  W.  A.  B.  Hamilton, 

Geo.  Wm.  Hope,  Esq.,  &c.,  &c.  Secretary. 

Sir  :  Portsmouth  Yard,  13th  March,  1844. 

With  reference  to  your  directions  of  the  1st  ultimo,  to  make  experiments 
as  to  the  degrees  of  prevention  against  ignition  into  flame,  which  timber  sat¬ 
urated  with  Sir  William  Burnett’s  Solution,  affords  comparatively  with  wood 
of  the  same  kind  and  unprepared,  we  have  the  honor  to  state,  that  we  have 
7  very  carefully  instituted  a  series  of  experiments  on  this  subject,  of  which  the 

following  are  the  results. 

[A  portion  of  the  experiments  were  made  by  placing  the  prepared  and  un¬ 
prepared  specimens  in  one  of  the  furnaces  of  the  metal  mills,  in  which  the 
results  were  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  prepared  woods,  which  resisted  that 
intense  heat  much  longer  than  the  unprepared.  The  experiments  were  then 
continued  as  follows.] 

Red  Pine,  (Canada)  the  red  hot  iron  placed  over  both  —  the  unprepared 
burst  into  flame  immediately  —  the  prepared  gave  no  symptoms  of  flame, 
and  the  iron  became  cold  without  its  inflaming. 

Elm  (Canada)  placed  in  hot  pots  containing  the  copper  cakes  lately  ladled 
out  of  the  refining  furnace.  The  unprepared  ignited  into  flame  in  half  a 
minute.  The  prepared  into  a  very  much  smaller  flame  in  two  minutes  and 
a  quarter. 


Yellow  Pine  (Canada)  placed  in  the  cake  pots  similarly  to  the  before-men* 
tioned.  The  unprepared  hurst  into  flame  immediately.  The  prepared 
was  watched  for  twelve  minutes,  but  burst.not  into  flame  at  all.  The  heat 
was  very  great. 

A  second  experiment  was  tried  on  this  timber  by  placing  red  hot  bon  011 
it.  The  unprepared  ignited  immediately  bito  flame.  The  prepared  not  at 

all. 

It  appears  from  the  above  experiments,  that  some  of  the  prepared  woods 
(especially  the  Canada  Yellow  Pine)  have  resisted  ignition  into  flame  to  an 
extraordinary  degree. 

We  are  of  opinion  that  Yellow'  Pine  Timber  prepared  in  this  way  might  be 
used  most  beneficially,  not  only  for  magazines  and  light  room  bulkheads, 
but  also  for  all  the  bulkheads  of  a  ship.  There  appears  to  be  nothing  in  the 
Solution  calculated  to  injuriously  affect  the  health  of  the  crew,  and  if,  by 
preparing  Yellow  Pine  Timber  in  this  way,  it  might  be  made  as  durable  as 
the  timber  generally  used  for  bulkheads,  it  would  be  found  to  possess  the 
double  advantage  of  preserving  the  timber  and  prevent  its  ignition  into 
flame.  The  solution  used  in  the  above  experbnents  was  about  eight  tunes 
the  ordinary  strength.  We  remain,  &c. 

••(Signed)  R.  Blake.  J.  Watts. 

F.  Sturdie.  J.  Owen. 


Portsmouth  Yard, 
25th  May,  1845. 

Sir,  —  With  reference  to  your  memo.  20tli  March  last,  directing  me  to  re¬ 
port  whether  we  propose  that  bulkheads  should  be  prepared  with  Sir 
William  Burnett’s  Solution  of  the  same  strength  as  that  used  in  the  experi¬ 
ments  described  in  our  letter  of  the  16th  March  last,  that  is,  eight  times  the 
usual  strength,  and  if  so,  v'hat  would  be  the  expense  of  fittbig  a  line-of- 
battle  ship  in  that  maimer. 

The  following  is  the  comparative  expense  of  fitting  the  bulkheads  of  the 
hold  of  a  line-of-battle  ship  with  ordinary  timber  unprepared,  and  with  Yel¬ 
low  Pine  and  Riga  Fir,  prepared  with  Solution  of  one  pound  of  Chloride  to 
two  gallons  of  water. 

Bulkheads,  &c.  in  hold,  of  English  oak,  3  in.  thick,  £  j.  <1. 

2,760  cubic  feet,  968  0  0 

Do.,  Yellow  Pine,  3  in.  thick,  2,760  cubic  feet,  in¬ 
cluding  cost  of  preparation,  577  18  0 


Difference  in  favor  of  Yellow  Pine, 


£388  2  0 


Bulkheads,  &c.  in  hold,  of  Riga  Fir,  3  in.  thick  — 

2,760  cubic  feet,  including  cost  of  preparation,  646  18  0 

Difference  in  favor  of  Riga  Fir,  £319  2  0 

We  have,  &c.,  &c. 

(Signed)  R.  Blake.  J.  Watts.  .T.  Owen, 


Chemical  Analyses  of,  and  Experiments  on,  various  specimens  of 
Burnettized  Timber. 

From  Thomas  Graham,  Esq.,  M.  A.,  F.  R.  S.,  L.  and  E.,  Professor  of 
Chemistry,  University  College,  London. 

After  making  several  experiments  on.  wood^  prepared  by  the  Solution  of 
chloride  of  zinc  for  the  purpose  of  preservation,  and  given  the  subject  my 
best  consideration,  I  have  come  to  the  following  conclusions  : 

The  wood  appears  to  he  fully  and  deeply  penetrated  by  the  metallic  salt. 
I  have  found  it  in  the  centre  of  a  large  prepared  paving  block. 

The  salt,  although  very  soluble,  does  not  leave  the  wood  easily  when  ex¬ 
posed  to  the  weather,  or  buried  in  dry  or  damp  earth.  It  does  not  come  to 
the  surface  of  the  wood  by  efflorescence,  like  the  crystallizable  salts.  I  have 
no  doubt,  indeed,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  salt  will  remain  in  the  wood 
for  years,  when  employed  for  railway  sleepers  or  such  purposes.  This  may 
be  of  material  consequence  when  the  wood  is  exposed  to  the  attacks  oi  in¬ 
sects,  such  as  the  white  ant  iu  India,  which  I  believe  would  be  repelled  by 
the  poisonous  metallic  salt. 

After  being  long  macerated  in  cold  water,  or  even  boiled  in  water,  thin 
chips  of  the  prepared  wood  retain  a  sensible  quantity  of  the  oxide  of  zinc ; 
which  I  confirmed  by  Mr.  Toplis’s  test,  and  observing  that  the  wood  can  be 
permanently  dyed  from  being  charged  with  a  metallic  mordant. 

I  have  no  doubt,  from  repeated  observations  made  during  several  years,  of 
the  valuable  preservative  qualities  of  the  Solution  of  chloride  of  zinc,  as  ap¬ 
plied  in  Sir  W.  Burnett’s  process ;  and  would  refer  its  beneficial  action 
chiefly  to  the  small  quantity  of  the  metallic  salt  which  is  permanently  retained 
by  the  ligneous  fibre  in  all  circumstances  of  exposure.  The  oxide  of  zinc  ap¬ 
pears  to  alter  and  harden  the  fibre  of  wood,  and  destroy  the  solubility,  and 
prevent  the  tendency  to  decomposition  of  the  azotized  principles  it  contains, 

by  entering  into  chemical  combination  with  them. 

(Signed)  Thomas  Graham. 

University  College,  25th  Oct.,  1845. 


Extract  from  “  Illustrations  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Ventilation,  &c.,  S$c. 
By  D.  B.  Read,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S.  E.,  late  Vice  President  of  the  Society  of 
Arts  for  Scotland,  and  Senior  President  of  the  Royal  Medical  Society,  Edin¬ 
burgh.  (Pages  73,  74  ;  subject,  Dry  Rot.) 

In  all  cases  where  there  is  either  peculiar  exposure,  a  difficulty  in  obtain¬ 
ing  constant  and  free  access  to  timbers,  or  a  desire  to  give  the  highest  protec¬ 
tion,  the  materials  should  be  subjected  to  those  agents  whose  antiseptic 
powers  tend  to  oppose  all  incipient  vegetation.  Among  these  the  muriate  of 
zinc,  introduced  by  Sir  William  Burnett,  which  I  have  used  on  different  oc¬ 
casions,  and  which,  from  the  specimens  I  have  seen,  is  the  most  powerful  of 
those  materials  that  do  not  affect  the  texture  or  other  qualities  of  the  wood. 

Many  oily  antiseptics,  though  offensive  from  their  odor,  are  also  effectual 
in  preventing  Dry  Rot ;  but,  as  yet,  I  have  not  seen  any  specimens  of  wood 
or  canvas  that  have  resisted  such  trying  circumstances  as  those  that  were  pro¬ 
tected  by  the  muriate  of  zinc. 


23 


TESTIMONIALS 

AS  TO  THE  PROTECTION  OF  CANVAS,  CORDAGE,  COTTON,  &c. 

FROM  DECAY  AND  MILDEW,  AND  WOOLEN  FROM  MOTHS. 

To  the  Proprietors  of  Sir  William  Burnett's  Patent. 

Albany  Road,  17th  August,  1842. 

Gentlemen,  —  My  first  series  of  experiments  on  the  effects  of  the  chloride 
of  zinc  upon  fibrous  substances,  was  directed  solely  to  the  object  of  affording 
occular  demonstration  that  some  permanent  chemical  change  in  the  fibres  of 
the  material  submitted  to  its  action  was  brought  about  by  immersion  in  the 
Solution.  Of  the  results  of  these  trials,  I  had  the  honor  to  transmit  you 
specimens,  which  were,  I  believe,  amply  sufficient  to  convince  any  unpreju¬ 
diced  observer.  Since  then,  I  have,  for  my  own  satisfaction,  made  some  few 
experiments,  with  a  view  to  determine  the  preservative  power  of  the  chloride, 
under  circumstances  likely  to  give  considerable  confidence  in  the  permanency 
of  the  salutary  change  operated  upon  the  organic  structure.  I  took  two  sep¬ 
arate  pieces  of  the  same  woolen  cloth,  one  of  which  had  been  immersed  for 
forty-eight  hours  in  the  solution  of  chloride  of  zinc,  then  dried,  and  after¬ 
wards  washed  in  cold  water ;  the  other  piece  in  its  ordinary  unprepared 
state  ;  both  were  then  subjected  to  a  similar  process  of  dyeing,  in  the  course 
of  which  operation  they  both  remained  in  the  boiling  fluid  for  some  time  — 
say  twenty  minutes.  The  two  pieces  were  subsequently  buried  in  the  earth 
of  a  melon-frame,  and  taken  thence  at  the  end  of  fourteen  days.  The  unpre¬ 
pared  piece  was  in  a  state  of  complete  decay  ;  the  prepared  piece  retained  its 
original  strength  of  texture  and  color.  These  specimens  were  placed  in  your 
hands.  I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  sending  you  two  pieces  of  sail-cloth, 
which  have  been  treated  in  the  same  way,  and  with  similar  results.  The 
time  they  remained  in  the  earth  was  three  weeks. 

These  experiments  will,  I  conceive,  go  very  far  to  remove  any  doubts 
which  might  be  raised  as  to  the  permanency  of  the  preservative  power  of 
chloride  of  zinc  on  animal  and  vegetable  fibre  ;  since  the  boiling  in  the  dye- 
vat,  subsequently  to  preparation,  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  removed 
from  the  cloth  whatever  wras  left  soluble  in  water,  by  the  previous  macera¬ 
tion  in  the  dissolved  chloride. 

In  my  own  mind,  not  the  smallest  doubt  exists  that  a  permanent  chemical 
union  takes  place,  as  I  have  before  intimated,  between  the  organic  fibre  and 
the  metallic  base  of  the  salt ;  and  that  to  such  union  must  be  ascribed  the 
new  powrer,  now  so  frequently  and  so  satisfactorily  ascertained,  of  resisting 
decomposition  under  circumstances  well  known  to  induce  the  premature 
decay  of  animal  and  vegetable  fibrous  structures. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

Charles  Toplis. 


24 


Admiralty,  13th  July,  1840. 

Sir, — With  reference  to  your  letter  of  the  29th  of  last  month,  I  am 
commanded  by  my  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  to  acquaint  you, 
that  from  the  report  of  the  trials  of  the  strength  of  the  Cordage  and  Canvas 
prepared  with  the  Solution  on  your  plan,  as  compared  with  that  unprepared, 
it  appears  that  after  both  were  equally  exposed  to  wet  and  damp,  as  well  as  to 
the  effects  of  the  atmosphere,  the  prepared  Cordage  is  on  the  average  about  one- 
twelfth  stronger,  *  and  the  Canvas  about  two-thirds  stronger  than  the  unpre¬ 
pared.  I  am,  &c.,  &c. 

II.  E.  Amedroz, 

Sir  William  Burnett,  K.  C.  H.,  F.  R.  S.,  &c.,  &c.  Pro- Secretary . 


Portsmouth  Yard,  24th  June,  1840. 

To  the  Admiral  Superintendent. 

Suspended  by  weights,  canvas  No.  3.  Immersed  in  the  Solution  two 
pieces  prepared,  and  two  unprepared,  which  had  been  placed  in  a  damp 
cellar  for  twelve  months ;  when  tested,  broke  at  the  undermentioned 
weights : 

Prepared.  Unprepared. 


Pieces  laid  open. 


Weft 

broke  at  414  lbs. 


Pieces  rolled  up. 
Weft 

« 

broke  at  505  lbs. 


Pieces  open.  Pieces  rolled. 
Weft  Weft 

broke  at  197  lbs.  broke  at  267  lbs. 


Two  pieces  exposed  on  the  Sheers. 

Prepared.  •  Unprepared. 

Weft  broke  at  293  lbs.  |  Weft  broke  at  266  lbs. 

From  the  foregoing  trials  of  strength,  I  am  induced  to  suggest,  that  it 
would  be  beneficial  to  Iler  Majesty’s  service,  were  all  cordage,  canvas,  &c., 
especially  that  for  store  at  home,  or  for  Foreign  service,  dipped  in  this  Solu¬ 
tion,  as  it  appears  in  every  instance  to  preserve  the  articles  frpm  the  effects 
of  damp,  mildew,  and  premature  decay.  I  am, 

s  /  F.  W.  R.  Sadler,  ‘ 

Master  Attendant. 


From  the  late  Joseph  Somes,  Esq.,  dated  London,  Nov.  29,  1843. 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  have  had  upwards  of  24,000  yards  of  “  Burnett- 
ized  ”  canvas  in  use,  as  awnings  and  sails,  on  board  my  ships,  in  all  quarters 
of  the  globe  —  the  greater  part  of  which  have  been  in  wear  more  than  three 
years,  in  India  and  China  ;  and  I  find,  on  their  return  to  this  country,  that 
they  are  invariably  free  from  mildew,  and,  comparatively,  in  a  good  state 
of  preservation.  Having  experienced  such  beneficial  results  from  the  adop¬ 
tion  of  Sir  W.  Burnett’s  process,  I  shall  use  it  more  extensively,  and  recom¬ 
mend  it  with  the  greatest  confidence. 

(Signed)  JosErn  Somes. 

To  the  Secretary  of  Sir  W.  Burnett’s  Patent. 


*  The  Cordage,  in  this  instance,  was  submitted  to  the  Solution  as  Rope,  previously  tarred;  — 
condition  in  which  Cordage  cannot  derive  the  full  benefit  of  the  Patent. 


We,  the  undersigned,  Captain  and  Officers  of  the  Niger  expedition,  on 
board  the  Wilberforce,  having  paid  attention  to  the  general  wear  and  con¬ 
dition  of  the  sails,  awnings,  and  tents,  supplied  the  vessel,  which  had  been 
subjected  to  Burnett’s  Patent  preservative  process,  feel  pleasure  in  testify¬ 
ing  to  its  efficacy ;  the  canvas,  generally,  having  been  greatly  exposed  to 
tropical  rains  and  a  vertical  sun,  and  notwithstanding  that  provided  by 
contract  to  the  ship  was  of  a  much  lighter  description  than  that  issued  in 
the  Royal  Navy. 

The  rain  awnings  would  appear  to  be  made  somewhat  water-proof  by 
the  preparation,  as  they  are  less  pervious  to  rain  than  common  canvas,  and 
are  likewise  more  flexible  and  tougher  than  that  which  has  not  undergone 
the  process. 

We  are  also  most  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  Patent  is  a  perfect  pre¬ 
servative  against  mildew  and  rot,  as  is  manifestly  shown  by  the  present 
condition  of  the  sails  and  awnings,  they  being  still  good  and  serviceable  ; 
which  would,  in  all  probability,  had  they  not  been  “  Burnettized,”  have 
become  rotten  and  useless. 

Given  under  our  hands,  on  board  the  Wilberforce,  at  Cape  Coast  Castle, 
tills  29th  day  of  March,  1842. 

William  Allen,  Captain  and  senior  Officer  present 
of  the  Niger  Expedition. 

William  Ellis,  Commander  of  H.M.S.  Soudan. 

William  Forster,  Master  of  H.M.S.  Wilberforce. 

M.  Pritchett,  m.  d.,  Surgeon  of  H.M.S.  Wilberforce. 


Letter  from  Captain  W .  Cook,  one  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  Govern¬ 
ment  for  conducting  the  Niger  Expedition. 

II.  M.  Steamer  Wilberforce  at  Sea, 
oth  April,  1842. 

Dear  Doctor,  —  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  herewith  give  you 
my  opinion  as  regards  Sir  William  Burnett’s  Patent  composition  for  pre¬ 
serving  canvas,  &c.  I  do  this  the  more  readily,  because  I  have  narrowly 
watched  its  effects  upon  the  sails  of  this  vessel,  during  the  last  twelve 
months  ;  and  I  have  no  hesitation  hi  asserting  that,  but  for  the  Patent  com¬ 
position,  they  would  long  since  have  rotted  from  the  yards.  In  confirma¬ 
tion  of  this,  I  may  state  that  during  the  late  rainy  season,  when  there 
was  so  much  sickness  on  board,  I  have  frequently  known  the  sails  to  have 
been  rolled  up  to  the  yards  for  many  days  together,  -without  an  opportunity 
of  airing  or  drying  them. 

Under  the  same  circumstances,  sails  made  of  the  best  bleached  coker 
canvas,  without  the  composition,  would  have  been  destroyed  ;  whereas  these 
sails,  though  not  originally  of  the  best  sail-cloth,  are  still  bent  and  in  con¬ 
stant  use,  without  exhibiting  the  least  signs  of  mildew. 

I  remain,  my  dear  Sir,  yours  faithfully, 

M.  Pritchett,  M.  D.,  &c.,  & c.  W.  Cook. 

4 


26 


12  Northampton  Square,  St.  John’s  Street  Road, 
London,  Dec.  1844. 

Sir,  —  In  reply  to  your  inquiry  as  to  how  far  the  sails,  awnings,  &c., 
prepared  by  being  steeped  in  your  Patent  Solution  were  preserved  thereby, 
I  beg  to  state  that  during  the  two  years  I  commanded  H.  M.  Steam  Vessel 
Albert,  I  had  many  opportunities  of  testing  its  effects,  and  found  in  all  cases 
the  result  to  be  very  satisfactory. 

The  awnings  prepared  by  you  were  subjected  to  every  alteration  of  at¬ 
mosphere,  being  kept  spread  night  and  day,  both  in  the  dry  and  rainy 
seasons  (which  I  considered  to  be  the  severest  test  to  which  they  could  have 
been  subjected.)  These  awnings  lasted,  at  least,  twice  as  long  as  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  for  unprepared  canvas  to  have  done  under  the  same  circumstances  ; 
and  they,  when  worn  out,  presented  as  white  and  unmildewed  an  appearance 
as  they  did  when  first  put  on  board.  The  sails,  also,  which  were  frequently 
many  days  together  wet  through  without  being  loosed  (owing  to  the  inces¬ 
sant  rain,)  never  became  either  mildewed  or  warm,  while  a  top-sail,  made  at 
Ascension  of  unprepared  canvas,  became  black  with  mildew  from  head  to 
foot.  In  fact,  the  prepared  sails  w'hen  repaired  with  new  canvas  presented, 
after  a  short  exposure  to  the  rain,  a  ehecquered  appearance,  owing  to  the 
new  canvas  becoming  warm  and  turning  black.  A  newr  unprepared  quarter¬ 
deck  awning,  supplied  by  II.  M.  Steam  Vessel  Kite,  was  worn  out  in  fourteen 
months,  while  a  main-deck  awning  much  worn  in  the  Niger  expedition 
was  subsequently  used  by  me  for  twenty  months,  and  then  became  unser¬ 
viceable  almost  as  much  from  its  being  cut  up  with  shot,  and  tom  by  being 
kept  spread  in  tornadoes,  to  preserve  the  health  of  the  people,  as  from  its 
natural  decay  ;  this  awning  must  have  been  in  use  for  nearly  thirty  months, 
being  constantly  spread  and  exposed  to  rain,  sun,  and  damp.  This,  I  think, 
is  as  satisfactory  a  test  of  the  efficacy  of  the  Solution  as  can  be  wished. 

I  think  it  necessary  further  to  state  that  the  process  gone  through  does 
not  in  any  way  thicken  the  cloth,  or  render  it  difficult  to  handle,  it  being  as 
soft  and  pliable,  in  fact  rather  more  so  than  unprepared  canvas.  In  con¬ 
clusion,  I  should  certainly  say  that  a  great  saving  is  effected  by  your  inven¬ 
tion  ;  and  its  adoption  by  vessels,  especially  those  employed  in  the  African 
trade,  would  be  of  incalculable  advantage  to  them. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  Mackleod  B.  Cockraft,  Lieut. 

Late  commanding  II.  M.  Steam  Vessel  Albert,  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa, 
To  Sir  W.  Burnett,  K.  C.  H.,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 


Southampton,  December,  1841. 

Sir,  —  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  having,  in  compliance  with  your  request, 
subjected  a  slip  of  canvas  three  feet  long  and  four  inches  wride,  eighteen 
inches  of  which  had  been  saturated  with  Burnett’s  patent  preparation,  to  the 
action  of  an  extremely  damp  part  of  my  cellar,  from  July  last  for  about  two 
months,  open,  and  afterwards  folded  up  and  subjected  to  the  pressure  of  an  iron 
weight  in  the  same  place,  but  for  some  weeks  under  water  which  had  found 


27 


its  way  into  my  cellar ;  on  examining  it  recently  I  find  the  part  perfectly 
saturated  with  the  composition  sound  and  good,  but  the  part  wholly  free 
from  the  influence  of  the  said  composition  rotten  and  easily  torn.  I  there¬ 
fore  do  not  hesitate  to  record  my  most  favorable  opinion  as  to  the  value  of 
the  discovery,  which  seems  effectually  to  destroy  the  principle  of  vegetation 
so  productive  of  fermentation,  and  consequently  of  rot,  or  decay ;  and  I 
think  considerably  lessening  the  probability  of  spontaneous  combustion  in 
sails  or  ropes  on  board  of  ships,  unavoidably,  at  times,  under  the  influence 
of  wet  or  damp.  Yours  truly, 

"W»  Ward 

F.  W.  J ern ingham,  Esq.,  Southampton. 


8,  LoCKYER-TERRACE,  PLYMOUTH, 
6th  November,  1845. 

Dear  Sir,  —  During  three  years’  experience  on  the  Coast  of  Africa,  I 
have  seen  your  prepared  canvas  tried  in  every  form  and  shape,  with  the 
greatest  success  :  in  fact,  I  never  saw  a  spot  of  mildew  on  prepared  canvas 
(either  in  awnings  or  sails,)  when  I  have  frequently  seen  unprepared  canvas 
completely  covered  with  mildew  in  six  or  eight  hours. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  John  Seccombe,  Lieut.,  It.  A., 
Late  of  IT.  M.  Ship  “  Espoir,”  serving  on  the  Coast  of  Africa. 

To  Sir  William  Burnett,  K.  C.  H.,  &c.,  &c. 


“Great  Liverpool”  Steamship, 
Southampton,  27th  May,  1844. 

SiR,  —  In  compliance  with  your  order  to  report  on  the  sails  of  this  ship 
which  were  made  of  “  Burncttized  ”  canvas,  I  have  to  inform  you  that  a 
great  part  of  the  said  sails  have  been  in  constant  use  for  nearly  three  years, 
and  that  they  have  been  frequently  furled  for  fifteen  or  twenty  days  to¬ 
gether,  in  head  winds,  and  when  at  anchor ;  that  not  the  slightest  appear¬ 
ance  of  mildew  has  been  observed  while  bent  or  in  the  sail-room,  and  that 
the  canvas  is  in  every  other  respect  equal  to  that  used  for  sails. 

To  Lieut.  Kendall,  B,.  N.,  I  am,  Sir, 

Superintendent  Peninsula  and  Your  obedient  servant, 

Oriental  Steam  Navigation  Company,  A.  M‘Leod. 

Southampton.  Commander. 


Extract  from  a  Note,  dated  the  29  th  March,  1845,  from  A.  H.  Holdsworth, 
Esq.,  to  Sir  William  Burnett. 

I  wrote  a  few  lines  before  I  left  London  ;  I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  men¬ 
tioning  that  I  have  just  heard  from  Gordon,  of  the  Cormorant,  in  which 
letter  the  following  passage  occurs  :  — 

Pray  make  my  compliments  to  Sir  William  Burnett,  if  you  see  him,  and 
say  nothing  can  have  behaved  better  than  his  canvas.  Our  quarter-deck 


28 


awning,  that  had  not  been  prepared  by  him,  in  one  night  became  full  of 
black  spots,  and  in  fact  became  completely  mildewed.  I  then  ordered  one 
that  had  been  prepared  by  his  process  to  be  brought  on  deck,  to  be  wetted, 
and  then  rolled  up,  and  kept  in  that  state  for  ten  days,  exposed  to  a  hot  sun 
and  heavy  showers  near  the  funnel ;  and,  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  it 
was  dried,  and  found  to  be  as  good  as  when  it  came  from  the  sail-loft. 


Extract  from  an  Official  Report,  dated  Portsmouth  Dockyard, 

2ith  September,  1847. 

SlI1>  —  In  obedience  to  your  memorandum  of  the  23d  instant,  respecting 
the  canvas  that  was  rolled  upon  rollers,  and  has  been  deposited  in  the  cellars 
of  the  hemp-house  since  April,  1839,  we  beg  to  report  that  we  have  carefully 
surveyed  the  said  canvas,  and  find  that  one  of  the  pieces  was  prepared  with 
Sir  W  illiam  Burnett’s  Solution,  and  the  other  unprepared.  The  latter  is 
very  much  mildewed  in  every  part,  and  in  several  places  so  rotten  that  it 
broke  through  on  being  removed  from  the  roller,  which  was  very  much 
decayed  ;  whereas  the  canvas  prepared  with  Sir  William  Burnett’s  Solution 
is  perfectly  free  from  mildew,  excepting  a  few  small  spots,  which  appear  to 
have  been  caused  by  its  being  in  contact  with  some  particular  fluid ;  and  the 
sound  state  of  the  roller  on  which  the  prepared  canvas  was  rolled,  compared 
with  the  other,  is  very  remarkable,  it  having  been  cut  from  the  same  spar. 

We  remain,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

(Signed)  Charles  Brown,  Master  Attendant. 

J .  Taplin,  Master  Sailmaker. 

B.  Harvey,  Master  Rigger. 

To  the  Admiral  Superintendent,  & c.,  &c.,  &c. 


PREPARED  CORDAGE. 


Jerusalem  Coffee-House,  London, 
12th  May,  1842. 

' !i’  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  yesterday’s 
date,  requesting  me  to  give  my  opinion  of  Sir  William  Burnett’s  Solution, 
for  the  preservation  of  rope,  canvas,  planks,  &c. ;  a  large  quantity  of  each 
of  these  articles  having  been  supplied  in  a  prepared  state  to  the  late  East 
India  Ship  Viscount  Melbourne,  lost  in  January  last,  in  the  China  Sea. 

It  is  with  pleasure  I  give  my  testimony  to  the  value  of  Sir  William  Bur¬ 
nett  s  Solution,  having  had  ample  opportunity  to  judge  of  its  good  effects, 
during  a  period  of  fifteen  months,  viz.  :  from  October  1840,  to  January 
1842,  when  my  unfortunate  ship  was  lost.  I  will  briefly  give  my  reason 
for  judging  thus  favorably  of  it,  viz. :  — 


29 


1.  Rope.  Tlie  Melbourne’s  rope  was  supplied  and  made  by  the  same  person, 

of  the  same  description  of  yam  ;  one-half  was  tarred  in  the  usual 
manner,  the  other  half  was  dipped  in  Sir  W.  Burnett’s  Solution.  To 
give  both  kinds  a  fair  trial,  braces,  buntlines,  clue  garnetts,  &c.,  were 
rove  in  opposition  to  each  other.  After  several  months  had  elapsed, 
the  prepared  was  found  to  wear  better  than  the  tarred  rope,  and  to 
have  the  additional  advantage  of  being  much  lighter,  easier  to  work, 
and  causing  less  “  chafing  ”  to  the  sails.  It  is  decidedly  to  be  pre¬ 
ferred  for  “  running  gear.” 

2.  Canvas.  All  the  Melbourne’s  new  sails  and  store  canvas  had  been  dipped 

in  the  Solution,  which  made  them  softer,  consequently  lighter  to  work 
than  they  would  otherwise  have  been.  There  was  not  the  least  ap¬ 
pearance  of  mildew  during  the  voyage. 

3.  Planks.  The  launch  was  lined  with  planks  prepared  in  the  Solution 

already  mentioned ;  with  the  exception  of  one  month,  when  her  ser¬ 
vices  were  required  for  the  ship,  about  thirty  sheep  were  constantly 
kept  in  her,  without  the  slightest  detriment  to  the  wood.  This  boat 
was  the  providential  means  of  saving  the  lives  of  twenty-seven  people, 
who  were  exposed  in  her  to  the  elements  for  thirteen  days,  during 
which  time  they  traversed  1,000  miles.  I  consider  that  the  excellent 
sound  state  in  which  she  was  is  to  be  attributed  to  her  planks  for 
lining  having  been  prepared  in  Sir  William  Burnett’s  Solution  ;  and 
having  had  good  cause  to  know  its  value,  would  strongly  recommend 
it  to  the  notice  of  all  persons  connected  with  shipping. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

Charles  W.  M.  S.  M'Kerlie,  late  H.C.S. 

Commander  late  East  India  Ship  Viscount  Melbourne. 

To  the  Secretary  for  Sir  W.  Burnett’s  Patent. 


14  Macfarlane  Street,  Glasgow, 
12th  February,  1844. 

Gentlemen,  —  At  your  request  we  have  much  pleasure  in  certifying  that, 
so  far  as  our  experience  goes,  your  process  of  “  Burnettizing  ”  ropes  has  been 
very  successful,  rendering  them  much  more  pliable,  and  not  nearly  so  liable 
to  decay,  wet  having  no  injurious  effect  on  them  ;  the  same  quantity  of  ropes 
now  serving  us,  on  an  average,  fully  double  the  time  they  formerly  did 
when  unprepared. 

We  are,  Gentlemen,  your  obedient  servants, 

(Signed)  Thomas  Frame  &  Co. 

Wood  Merchants. 

To  Messrs.  W.  Middleton  and  Son, 

68,  Glassford  Street,  Glasgow,  Agents  for  Sir  W.  Burnett’s  Patent. 


PROTECTION  OF  WOOLEN  FROM  MOTHS. 

Admiralty,  27th  May,  1839. 

Sir,  —  I  beg  to  acquaint  you  that,  on  the  4th  December,  1838,’  I  placed 
several  pieces  of  your  prepared  cloth  and  fur  in  a  tin  chest,  containing  some 
clothing  much  infested  with  the  moth;  upon  examination,  it  appears  that 
the  cloths  and  fur,  so  prepared,  are  now  in  the  same  state  as  when  first 
placed  m  the  chest,  untouched  by  the  moths;  indeed  the  insects  appear  to  me 
to  b o  totally  destroyed,  for  nothing  but  the  cases  or  skins  remain  in  the  chest, 
which  I  conceive  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  effects  of  your  preparation. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

rp  o.  wt  (Signed)  Thos.  Morton. 

lo  Sir  W.  Burnett,  Iv.  C.  H.,  &c.,  &c. 


FURTHER  TESTIMONIAL. 

Admiralty,  1st  July,  1841. 

Sir,— Mith  reference  to  my  Report  to  you  of  the  27th  May,  1839,  I 
have  again  examined  the  marine  clothing  (chiefly  great-coats,  articles  the 
moths  make  great  havoc  with,  and  which  w'ere  much  affected  with  them,) 
contained  in  a  tin  chest  in  my  custody,  and  amongst  which  clothing  several 
pieces  of  your  prepared  cloths  and  fur  were  placed  on  the  4th  December, 

38'  1  now  find  the  cloths  and  fur  so  deposited  remain  untouched  by 
moths,  and  they  appear  to  me  to  be  in  the  same  state  as  when  first  deposited 
m  the  chest ;  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  stating,  that  your  prepared  cloths 
have  been  the  means  of  destroying  the  moths  that  were  in  the  chest,  previous 
to  the  introduction  of  your  prepared  cloths  and  fur. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

rp  c*  ht  -n  ,,  (Signed)  Thos.  Morton. 

To  Sir  W.  Burnett,  K.  C.  H.,  &c.,  &c. 


SPECIFICATION 

Of  the  Patent  granted,  in  England,  to  Sir  William  Burnett,  Knight,  Com - 
mander  of  the  Royal  Hanoverian  Guelphic  Order,  of  Somerset  Place,  Strand, 
in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  for  Destroying  the  Tendency  of  certain  Vegetable 
and  Animal  Substances  to  Decay .  Sealed  July  26,  1838. 

To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  etc.,  etc.  Now  know  ye,  that 
m  compliance  with  the  said  proviso,  I  the  said  William  Burnett,  do  hereby  • 
declare  that  the  nature  of  my  said  invention,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
same  is  to  be  carried  into  effect,  are  fully  described  and  ascertained  in  and 
by  the  following  description  thereof,  —  that  is  to  say  :  — 


31 


The  invention,  consists  in  destroying  the  tendency  of  certain  vegetable  and 
animal  substances  to  decay,  by  submitting  them  to  the  action  of  chloride  of 
zinc.  In  preparing  wood,  canvas,  cordage,  sail-cloth,  hemp,  flax,  wool,  and 
other  vegetable  and  animal  -matter,  or  articles  made  thereof,  a  tank  or  other 
vessel  of  wood  or  other  suitable  material  is  provided.  This  is  to  be  Ailed 
about  two-thirds  full  of  chloride  of  zinc,  dissolved  in  cold  water,  in  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  one  pound  of  chloride  of  zinc  to  five  gallons  of  water  ;  this  is  al¬ 
lowed  to  remain  for  ten  or  twelve  hours,  when  the  solution  will  be  ready. 
The  material  which  is  to  be  prepared  is  then  placed  in  the  solution,  keeping 
it  completely  covered  by  the  liquid.  If  wood  or  timber  is  to  be  prepared,  it 
is  to  remain  in  the  solution  from  ten  to  twenty-one  days,  according  to  its 
size  and  thickness ;  that  is  to  say,  if  the  timber  be  of  the  thickness  of  from 
eight  to  thirteen  inches  and  upwards,  it  is  to  be  immersed  in  the  Solution  for 
twenty-one  days  ;  if  from  four  to  eight  inches  thick,  for  fourteen  days  ;  and 
if  less  than  four  inches  thick,  for  ten  days.  When  the  wood  or  timber  has 
been  so  immersed  it  is  to  be  taken  out  and  placed  in  a  situation  sheltered 
from  the  weather  until  it  becomes  perfectly  dry.  In  preparing  canvas  and 
cloth  of  hemp  or  wool,  they  are  to  be  kept  in  the  Solution  for  forty-eight 
hours,  and  then  dried  under  cover ;  and,  in  this  manner,  other  vegetable 
and  animal  materials  of  thin  texture  may  be  prepared.  In  the  preparation 
of  rope  or  cordage  above  the  thickness  of  two  inches,  steep  the  hemp  or 
yarns,  of  which  the  same  is  to  be  formed,  in  the  Solution,  forty-eight 
hours,  and  all  rope  or  cordage  of  two  inches  or  less  is  to  be  steeped  in 
the  Solution  for  seventy-two  hours.  In  all  cases,  where  tar  is  employed, 
the  yarns  forming  the  cordage  should  be  placed  in  the  Solution  for  forty- 
eight  hours,  and  allowed  to  dry  before  undergoing  the  tarring  process.  In 
ship-building,  and  in  building  or  repairing  houses,  besides  preparing  the 
timber  to  be  used  therein  as  above  described,  it  is  desirable  to  use  a  paint, 
made  by  grinding  impure  oxide  of  zirc  (lapis-calaminaris)  with  oil  or  other 
suitable  vehicle.  This  paint  is  recommended  to  be  applied  at  the  time  the 
materials  are  brought  into  contact,  to  the  faying  parts  ol  all  scarfs,  and 
on  the  joists  and  faying  parts  wherever  else  two  pieces  of  timber  are  brought 
into  contact,  and  also  on  the  under-sides  of  the  flats  of  all  magazine  plat¬ 
forms,  and  all  other  platforms,  below  the  orlops  of  ships  of  the  line,  and 
lower  decks  of  frigates,  and  below  the  upper  decks  of  sloops  and  smaller 
vessels.  In  houses,  the  paint,  made  as  before  stated,  is  to  be  used  for  the 
inside  of  skirting  and  wainscotting  of  ground-floors,  and  upon  every  part 
of  the  timber  materials  below  the  external  surface  of  ground  floors. 

In  witness  whereof,  etc. 

Enrolled  January  21,  1830. 

February  7,  1852.  The  patent  to  Sir  William  Burnett  was  extended  for 
seven  years,  from  July  26,  1852. 


SANITARY  USES  OF  CHLORIDE  OF  ZINC. 


Chloride  of  zinc  is  of  great  value  as  a  sanitary  and  deodoriz¬ 
ing  agent ;  it  is  the  most  convenient  and  effective  article  yet  dis¬ 
covered  for  removing  unpleasant  odors  from  the  sick-room ;  and  it 
i»  highly  appreciated  for  that  and  other  purposes  by  physicians  and 
surgeons  who  are  practically  acquainted  with  its  properties. 

The  following  documents  are  reprinted  from  English  publica¬ 
tions. 


Copxj  of  a  Letter  from  Sik  William  Burnett,  M.  D.,  Director-General  of 
t  te  Medical  Department  of  the  Navy,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty. 

Admiralty,  20th  May,  1848. 

Sir,  —  In  consequence  of  the  numerous  reports,  both  written  and  verbal 
which  have  been  made  to  me  during  the  few  past  years  respecting  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  Solution  of  chloride  of  zinc,  as  a  disinfecting,  or,  at  all  events 
as  a  deodorizing  agent,  I  have  been  induced  to  request  you  will  be  pleased 
to  lay  the  accompanying  papers  before  my  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty,  convinced  that  whatever  tends  to  increase  the  comforts  or  to 
improve  the  moral  and  physical  condition  of  all  classes  of  men  in  Her 
Majesty’s  Naval  Service,  will  meet  with  their  Lordships  most  favorable 
consideration. 

Presuming  that  the  value  of  the  chloride  of  zinc,  as  a  preservative  of 
vegetable  fibre,  is  now  established  beyond  all  doubt,  I  may  be  permitted  to 
call  your  attention  to  its  effects  when  brought  into  contact  with  noxious  gas 
m  whatever  way  generated,  or  with  putrid  animal  or  vegetable  substances 
evolving  noxious  odors,  either  of  which,  if  indeed  they  be  not  chemically 
the  same,  can  seldom  exist  for  any  length  of  time  in  ill-ventilated  rooms  or 
in  densely  populated  districts,  without  producing  disease,  and  ffequentlv 
contagious  diseases.  The  application  of  the  fluid  to  correct  the  feetor  of 
bilge-water,  is  now  in  general  use,  both  in  vessels  of  war  and  merchant 
vessels,  whether  employed  in  the  conveyance  of  goods  or  passengers,  and 
it  is  admitted  on  all  hands,  with  the  most  unquestionable  success.  In  the 
Peninsular  and  Oriental  Steam  Navigation  Company’s  vessels,  the  experi 
ment  was  fairly  tried,  so  far  back  as  1844,  and  with  the  happiest  results 
The  same  proof  of  its  effects  has  been  observed  in  her  Majesty’s  ships 
Rapid,  Rhadamanthus,  Childers,  Fisgard,  Stromboli,  Imaum  and  Rosa¬ 
mond. 


33 


In  some  of  these  vessels,  and  in  others  not  herein  mentioned,  the  effluvia 
had  seriously  affected  the  health  of  the  people  on  board,  causing,  as  in  the 
Stromboli,  oppressive  headache,  dyspepsia,  and  sleeplessness.  Such  was 
the  relief  obtained  in  the  latter  vessel  that  the  honorable  Captain  Plunket 
has  remarked,  in  a  letter  dated  22d  January,  1845,  that,  were  the  Solution 
not  allowed  by  government,  he  would  provide  it  at  his  own  cost.  In  the 
Rosamond,  formerly  the  Eclair,  the  surgeon  reports  that  the  most  trifling 
catarrhal  complaints  were  frequently  accompanied  with  a  low  typhoid  form 
of  fever  until,  by  the  copious  use  of  the  Solution,  “  a  noisome  foetor,” 
which  existed  on  the  fore  orlop',  or  troop  deck,  had  been  removed.* 

The  apparent  effects  of  the  Solution,  in  three  line-of-battle  ships  in  the 
Mediterranean,  was  still  more  remarkable.  In  two  of  these,  —  the  Albion 
and  Rodney,  in  which  it  was  only  sparingly  used,  —  the  effluvia  from  the 
after  holds,  in  which  there  were  salt  provisions,  and  consequently  leakage 
to  a  certain  extent,  was  very  disagreeable,  while  the  smell  from  the  bilge- 
water  rendered  the  cockpit  cabins  scarcely  habitable.  In  the  Vanguard, 
in  which  it  was  used  according  to  the  directions  given,  the  surface  of  all 
the  timbers  and  planking  in  the  hold  being  thoroughly  imbued  with  it, 
there  was  little  or  no  unpleasant  effluvia,  and  the  number  of  her  sick 
were,  in  consequence,  less  numerous,  and  the  diseases  less  severe,  than  in 
either  of  the  two  other  vessels  employed  in  precisely  the  same  duties  and 
localities. 

In  a  communication  from  Commander  Ryder,  of  a  recent  date,  there  is 
further  evidence  of  the  great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  proper  use 
of  the  Solution  in  steamers,  particularly  within  the  tropics,  where  disease 
is  more  apt  to  be  engendered  by  the  accumulation  and  decomposition  of 
foreign  matters  in  the  holds  of  these  vessels,  such  as  indeed  appears  to  have 
been  the  case  in  her  Majesty’s  ship  Growler,  which  was  lately  employed 
in  conveying  free  negroes  from  the  coast  of  Africa  to  the  West  Indies. 
The  surgeon  of  that  vessel  states,  that  he  considered  the  exciting  cause  of 
the  fever  which  attacked  the  greater  part  of  the  crew,  was  the  effluvia  evolved 
from  the  accumulations  in  her  holds  and  bilges,  which  (while  she  was  being 
cleared  out  at  Bermuda)  was  readily  neutralized  by  the  Solution,  with  the 
effect  of  thoroughly  eradicating  the  disease. 

The  value  of  the  Solution,  as  a  sanitary  agent,  I  think  I  may  be  permitted 
to  state,  has  been  established  by  the  most  unequivocal  proofs.  Noxious 
gases  are  speedily  deprived  of  their  more  poisonous  qualities  in  its  presence, 
while  the  odors  of  corrupt  or  diseased  animal  substances,  even  it  arising 
from  a  living  body,  are  rendered  imperceptible  or  innocuous,  if  not  annihi¬ 
lated  ;  these,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  are  not  only  frequently  the 
direct  source  of  fatal  and  malignant  diseases,  but  they  are  chiefly  instru¬ 
mental  in  conveying  the  principles  of  contagion  from  one  person  to  another, 
when  from  the  debilitating  influence  of  a  tainted  atmosphere  they  have  ac¬ 
quired  that  property. 

By  a  report  lately  presented  to  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers,  the  Solution 

*  Vide  Reports  printed  by  Order  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

§ 


34 


appears  to  have  had  a  vast  superiority  over  several  other  deodorizing  agents 
employed  in  a  series  of  experiments  performed  imder  their  immediate  inspec¬ 
tion  on  cesspools  and  other  receptacles  of  filth,  with  the  view  of  rendering 
the  removal  of  these  matters  less  dangerous  to  the  communities  in  their 
neighborhood.  In  proof  of  its  efficacy  under  these  or  similar  circumstances, 
and  consequently  of  its  power  over  those  miasmata  so  fruitful  of  typhoid 
fever,  I  have  already  submitted  for  your  consideration  a  number  of  docu¬ 
ments,  in  which  its  beneficial  effects  were  freely  admitted,  and  in  particular 
I  took  the  liberty  of  directing  your  attention  to  one  from  the  Chairman  of 
the  Board  of  AVatford  Union,  and  to  another  from  the  Governor  of  the 
Workhouse  of  that  parish ;  and  also  to  a  communication  from  Dr.  Lindsay 
to  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Auckland.  These,  however,  form  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  documentary  evidence  now  in  my  possession  relative  to  the 
deodorizing  properties  of  the  Solution. 

J  here  is  not,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  any  means  known  by  which  a  specific 
contagion  may  be  made  perceptible  to  the  senses,  in  contradistinction  to  a 
fei  er- exciting  miasm  ;  if  such  an  entity  does  really  exist  in  a  separate  form, 
Professor  Liebig  supposes  it  most  readily  attaches  itself  to  certain  noxious 
gases,  and  by  that  means  propagates  the  peculiar  disease  to  which  it  belongs. 
These  gases,  however,  as  previously  observed,  are  capable  of  being  destroyed 
by  the  Solution,  and  it  seems  not  unreasonable  to  infer  the  contagion  also ; 
but  if  this  be  not  admitted,  it  is  clearly  demonstrable  that,  from  the  want  of 
a  proper  vehicle  of  conveyance,  it  must  be  rendered  at  all  events  infinitely 
less  diffusible.  In  this  light,  therefore,  the  Solution  may  be  viewed  as  a  dis¬ 
infectant.  The  following  documents  bear  more  particularly  on  these  points. 

Several  instances  are  reported,  in  which  it  was  considered  to  have  arrested 
or  retarded  the  spread  of  contagious  maladies.  In  September  last,  erysipelas 
began  to  infest  the  patients  in  the  Royal  Alarine  Infirmary  at  Woolwich  ;  it 
speedily  acquired  considerable  virulence,  became  contagious,  and  carried  off 
several  men  who  were  under  treatment  for  other  ailments  of  minor  import¬ 
ance.  On  this  being  reported,  I  caused  the  Deputy  Inspector  to  adopt  the 
usual  precautions  required  on  these  occasions,  and  to  cause  the  vapor  of  the 
Solution  to  be  diffused  throughout  the  wards  by  hanging  up  pieces  of  woolen 
cloth  moistened  with  it,  and  by  sprinkling  it  occasionally  on  the  floors  and 
bedding.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days,  after  the  employment  of  these  meas¬ 
ures,  the  spread  of  the  disease  was  arrested,  while  all  open  sores,  with  which 
these  patients  were  affected,  put  on  a  much  more  healthy  appearance  than 
they  presented  previously  to  the  employment  of  the  Solution.  Early  in  1848, 
the  disease,  m  a  malignant  form,  was  again  introduced  to  this  establishment, 
from  one  of  the  ships  in  the  river  ;  still,  by  the  constant  use  of  the  Solution, 
it  was  prevented  from  attacking  other  patients  ;  even  those  with  open  buboes 
escaped -a  circumstance  so  unprecedented  as  to  lead  to  the  conviction  of 
the  medical  officer  in  its  disinfecting  properties. 

In  the  Royal  Alarine  Infirmary,  at  Chatham,  typhus  fever,  introduced 
from  Ireland,  appears  also  to  have  been  held  in  check  by  its  being  freely 
used  in  the  wards;  and  a  similar  result,  it  was  considered,  occurred  onboard 


85 


the  Barretto  Junior  transport,  when  crowded  with  troops  on  a  passage  to  the 
West  Indies. 

The  great  benefit  derived  from  the  application  of  the  diluted  liquid  to  foul 
sloughing  or  cancerous  sores,  stands,  however,  on  a  more  sure  foundation. 
In  the  Imaum,  it  was  used  with  the  greatest  benefit  in  the  treatment  of 
certain  forms  of  ulcer.  In  eases  of  scrofulous  ulcer,  attended  with  an 
“  overpowering  odor,”  it  was  found,  in  the  hands  of  E.  Wilson,  Esq.,  to 
have  the  effect  not  only  of  removing  the  bad  smell,  but  of  promoting  a 
healthy  process  in  the  sores. 

In  the  case  of  a  child  afflicted  with  perforation  of  the  intestines,  it  was 
of  essential  service. 

In  the  City  of  Dublin  Hospital,  its  external  application  has  been  highly 
approved  of. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  letter  without  expressing  my  firm  belief,  that  a 
more  general  use  of  an  agent  so  innocuous  in  itself,  and  yet  so  powerful 
in  the  prevention  of  disease,  is  most  urgently  required  in  all  hospitals  or 
dwellings  wherever  typhus  fever  or  other  contagious  diseases  exist,  as  well 
as  in  emigrant  ships,  where  it  is  at  all  times  so  difficult  to  enforce  cleanli¬ 
ness,  or  dispel  foul  animal  miasmata,  even  by  proper  ventilation. 

(Signed)  W.  Burnett,  Director- General,  etc. 


“Unite,”  Convict  Snip,  Woolwich, 
30th  November,  1848. 

Sir,  —  The  cholera  having  happily  ceased,  we  feel  it  our  duty  to  bring 
to  your  notice  the  advantage  resulting  from  the  use  of  the  chloride  of  zinc,  as 
a  destroyer  of  all  foetid  exhalations,  and  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  dis¬ 
infectants  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  We  used  the  Solution  in  the 
“  Warrior  ”  and  the  “  Justitia  ”  with  good  effect,  but  it  was  in  the  hospital- 
ship  where  we  had  the  best  opportunity  of  practically  testing  its  great 
utility.  This  ship  is  remarkably  well  ventilated ;  and  the  chloride  of  lime 
has  always  been  used  ;  we  therefore  directed  its  discontinuance,  and  in  its 
place  used  the  zinc  ;  we  consider  the  advantages  of  the  latter  to  be  great 
and  incontestible ;  it  destroys  all  offensive  effluvia  more  effectually  than  the 
former,  leaving  the  atmosphere  around  free  from  all  unpleasant  smell,  while 
the  chlorine  from  the  lime  is,  to  many,  peculiarly  offensive.  One  patient, 
laboring  under  abscess  of  the  lungs,  was  so  offensive  as  to  be  scarcely 
approachable ;  the  Solution  removed  all  odors,  and  so  contributed  to  the 
patient’s  comfort  that  he  requested  to  be  allowed  to  use  it  as  a  gargle  and 
to  wash  the  surface  of  the  body  with  it.  He  declared  that  he  found  great 
relief  from  its  use. 

The  patients  were  allowed  to  have  either  the  lime  or  the  zinc,  as  they 
liked,  to  sprinkle  the  bedding  and  place  in  the  close  stools,  but  they  inva¬ 
riably  preferred  the  zinc,  stating  that  the  odor  of  the  lime  was  offensive,  but 
the  zinc  had  no  unpleasant  smell. 

So  strong  is  our  opinion  of  its  utility  as  a  deodorizing  agent,  that  we  shall 
never  cease  to  use  it  on  all  occasions  when  an  agent  of  that  kind  is  required. 


36 


and  we  recommend,  most  strongly,  its  general  adoption  in  every  department 
of  the  Convict  Establishment.  In  the  naval  service  it  is  properly  appre¬ 
ciated.  To  the  mercantile  marine  it  would  be  invaluable  ;  for  when  offensive 
smells  arise  from  a  hold  which  cannot  be  cleansed,  the  free  use  of  the  Solu¬ 
tion  would  remove  all  these,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  the  woodwork  of 
the  ship,  which  we  believe  to  be  always  undergoing  decomposition,  when 
noxious  effluvia  are  evolved. 

We  are,  etc., 

(Signed)  G.  H.  Dabbs,  Surgeon  It.  Ar.,  Medical  Superintendent, 

Woolwich  Convict  Establishment. 

Edward  Noi  loth,  Surgeon,  K.  N. 

Frederick  M.  Rayner,  Assistant  Surgeon,  R.  N. 
H.  P.  Vouees,  Esq.,  Superintendent  of  Convicts. 


Her  Majesty’s  Dock-Yard  at  Portsmouth, 
14th  July,  1847. 

Sir,  —  In  reply  to  your  memorandum  of  the  12th  instant,  wherein  I  am 
directed  to  report  the  effect  of  Sir  William  Burnett’s  fluid,  when  employed 
for  the  removal  of  noxious  smells,  such  as  bilge-water,  or  when  employed  as 
a  disinfectant,  if  such  has  ever  been  the  case  ;  I  beg  leave  to  inform  you  that 
I  witnessed  its  application  in  February,  1844,  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
a  more  than  ordinary  stench  of  bilge-water  and  other  offensive  odors  in 
the  “  Victoria  and  Albert  ”  royal  yacht,  with  most  complete  success.  I  am 
informed  by  the  carpenter  that  she  has  remained  comparatively  sweet  ever 
since,  and  when  a  bilge- water  smell  is  occasionally  perceptible,  a  slight  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  fluid  removes  it. 

I  have  heard  from  some  of  the  officers  thereof  that  it  has  been  used  with 
remarkable  benefit  in  several  ships  in  ordinary  for  the  same  purpose. 

I  have  ordered  it  for  very  disgusting  privies,  the  effluvia  from  which  it  * 
quickly  neutralizes. 

I  have  employed  the  fluid  in  a  severe  case  of  open  cancer,  the  foetor  from 
which  was  intolerable  to  the  patient  and  attendants  ;  this  it  destroyed  so  long 
as  the  dressings  were  kept  moist  therewith. 

I  have  witnessed  the  use  of,  and  employed  the  fluid  as  a  preservative  of 
specimens  of  morbid  anatomy,  and  found  it  just  as  good  as  spirits  of  wine. 

I  have  tried  various  experiments  on  a  small  scale,  on  noxious  gases  and 
offensive  odors,  with,  in  every  instance,  perfect  success,  from  which,  and 
the  efficacious  results  in  the  before-mentioned  instances,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  fluid  possessing  potent  powers  as  a  corrector  of  noxious  and 
disagreeable  odors  ;  moreover,  if  sufficiently  applied,  and  kept  for  a  short 
space  of  time,  so  as  to  permit  the  timber  to  imbibe  some  of  it,  I  am  con¬ 
vinced  that  the  fluid  will  not  only  correct  the  bilge-water  smell,  but  have  a 
resisting  effect  to  its  future  formation. 

I  have,  etc. 

(Signed)  James  Henderson,  Surgeon. 

Hyde  Parker,  Esq.,  C.  B.,  Admiral  Superintendent,  etc.,  etc. 


37 


Relative  Merits  of  the  Chloride  of  Zinc  and  Chloride  of  Lime  as  tested  in 
the  “  Lord  Auckland”  Convict  Ship.  Extracted  from  the  Journal  of  the 
“  Lord  Auckland,"  March,  1847. 

The  chloride  of  lime  I  have  always  used  very  extensively,  and  although 
it  has  counteracted  disagreeable  smells  by  creating  one  of  its  own,  I  have 
never  found  it  so  beneficial  or  lasting  in  its  properties  as  the  chloride  of  zinc. 
In  the  first  place,  the  effluvium  arising  from  the  former  application  is  any¬ 
thing  but  pleasant ;  and,  so  soon  as  the  smell  of  chlorine  has  ceased  to  per¬ 
vade  the  apartment,  I  have  invariably  found  that  the  noxious  smells  become 
as  prevalent  as  ever ;  indeed,  a  few  hours  after  its  use,  we  have  had  the 
disagreeable  smells  from  the  closets  descending  the  prison  deck ;  and  although 
used  twice  a  day,  morning  and  evening,  and  then  scrubbed  into  the  wood¬ 
work  and  left  wet  with  the  liquid,  it  has  not  been  a  sufficient  safeguard 
against  the  strong  urinous  and  other  smells  from  the  round-houses. 

With  the  chloride  of  zinc  there  is  no  unpleasant  smell  whatever  from  its 
solution  ;  it  not  only  eradicates  the  feetor  from  close  and  confined  places, 
but  produces  a  sweetness  and  an  agreeableness  of  the  air  between  decks , 
the  lasting  properties  of  one  application  keeps  everything  pure  for  forty- 
eight  hours,  which  I  could  never  obtain  by  the  chloride  of  lime.  And 
although  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  using  both  remedies  in  different  ves¬ 
sels,  even  before  the  application  of  the  latter  (chloride  of  zinc,)  at  the 
appointed  time  in  the  morning,  we  seldom  or  ever  found  any  unpleasant 
smell  to  warrant  such  a  washing  or  sprinkling  ;  but  with  the  former,  (chlo¬ 
ride  of  lime,)  its  effects  were  gone  in  a  few  hours. 

(Signed)  Benjamin  Bynoe,  Surgeon  R.  N. 


38 


' « 


SANITARY  PURPOSES  AND  METHOD  OF  APPLICATION,  AS 
RECOMMENDED  IN  ENGLAND. 


Objects. 

Mode  of  Applying  the  Fluid . 

Pr<  portion  of 
|  Mixture. 

To  purify  Sick  Rooms, 
and  the  Wards  of 
Hospitals,  Work- 
houses,  Prisons, 
Factories,  and 
Crowded  Places, the 
between-decks  of 
Ships,  etc. 

Moisten,  with  the  diluted  solution,  a  piece  of  flannel 
cloth,  attached  to  a  long  rod,  and  wave  it  through  the  air 
of  the  apartment  for  ten  minutes  at  a  time;  in  addition 
to  which,  the  floor  should  be  mopped  or  sprinkled  over 
with  the  same,  if  necessary,  several  times  a  day,  and  a 
small  quantity  of  the  same  dilute  solution  should  be  put 
into  the  close-stools  and  bed-pans.  The  water-closets 
should  also  be  cleansed  with  it,  and  a  couple  of  gallons 
occasionally  thrown  down  each.  .  . . 

Fluid. Water. 

1  to  40 

N.  B.  For  use  on  board  ships,  between  decks ,  and  in 
places  where,  from  imperfect  means  of  ventilation,  it  may 
be  incon  venient  to  wet  the  floors.  Moisten,  with  the  dilu¬ 
ted  solution,  thick  pieces  of  flannel  cloth— the  thicker  the 
better — and  wave  them  through  the  air  of  the  apartments 
for  ten  minutes,  and  then  suspend  them  in  the  most  con¬ 
venient  manner  to  the  deck-beams,  or  across  the  rooms, 
and  keep  other  similar  pieces  of  cloth  thoroughly  and 
repeatedly  saturated  with  the  same  solution, in  flat  dishes 
upon  the  floors.  It  is  essentially  necessary  that  the  bilge- 
water  in  the  hold  of  the  vessel  should  be  purified  agree¬ 
ably  to  the  instructions  given  below. 

• 

To  Purify  Fever 
Wards  in  cases  of 
death. 

When  a  patient  dies  of  fever,  the  body  should  be 
sponged  over  with  the  dilute  solution,  and  the  clothes 
and  bedding  should  be  immersed  and  kept  in  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  it,  for  forty-eight  hours  before  being  washed. 
The  floor  should  be  well  mopped  over  with  the  solution. 
Flannel,  moistened  with  it,  (as  before  recommended,) 
should  be  waved  through  the  room . 

1  to  40 

To  Purify  the  Clothes, 
Linen,  etc.,  of  sick 
persons. 

Immerse  the  articles  in  the  dilute  solution,  as  directed 
in  sick  rooms . 

1  to  40 

To  prevent  the  com¬ 
munication  of  In¬ 
fectious  Disease. 

Sprinkle  the  dilute  solution  over  the  whole  of  the  floor 
of  the  apartment,  and  very  slightly  on  the  coverlid  of  the 
patient's  bed.  The  clothes  used  should  be  immersed  in 
the  solution,  and  afterwards  thoroughly  dried.  Moisten 
pieces  of  flannel  cloth,  and  use  them  as  directed  above. 

1  to  40 

To  purify  the  oclor  of 
Night-chairs. 

Put  half  a  pint  of  the  dilute  solution  into  the  pan 
previous  to  its  use,  and  when  emptied,  rinse  it  out  with 
a  small  quantity . 

1  to  40 

To  disinfect  dead 
bodies,  and  purify 
apartments  prepar¬ 
atory  to  the  visits 
of  Searchers,  Un¬ 
dertakers, and  J  ury  • 
men,  and  in  cases 
of  Post-mortem  Ex¬ 
amination. 

Wash  the  body  occasionally  with  the  dilute  solution, 
which  will  removo  all  unpleasant  smell  and  retard  pu¬ 
trefaction . 

1  to  40 

To  prepare  and  arrest 
the  decomposition 
of  Subjects  for  Dis¬ 
section. 

Immerse  the  subject  in  the  dilute  solution,  and  let  it 
remain  about  two  hours:  after  which  time  it  will  be 
purified.  As  the  dissection  proceeds,  the  parts  should 
be  sponged  over  with  the  same;  and,  if  they  are  to  be 
preserved,  the  blood-vessels  should  also  be  injected  with 
the  solution . 

I  to  40 

39 


Objects. 

Mode  of  Applying  the  Fluid. 

Proportion  of 
Mixture. 

To  disinfec 1  Cesspools, 
Drains,  Water-clos¬ 
ets,  etc. 

Pour  in  a  quantity  of  the  solution  in  proportion  to  the 
capacity  of  the  receptacle.  For  ordinary  water-closets, 
one  gallon  of  the  dilute  solution  will  generally  be  effect¬ 
ual.  For  large  cesspools,  the  quantity  must  be  in- 
creased  in  proportion  to  their  contents . 

Fluid.Water. 

1  to  20 

To  purify  Larders  and 
Stables. 

Sprinkle  the  floor  and  wash  all  the  wood-work  with 
the  dilute  solution . 

1  to  20 

To  sweeten  musty 
Casks,  Tubs,  etc. 

Rinse  them  well  with  the  dilute  solution.  .... 

1  to  20 

To  destroy  Canker 
and  Fungus  in 
Trees. 

Apply  the  solution  carefully  with  a  brush  to  the  parts 
affected  only . 

1  to  40 

To  extirpate  Bugs  and 
other  Vermin. 

Wash  the  floors  and  all  the  crevices  with  the  dilute 

solution . 

The  joists,  etc.,  of  the  bedsteads  should  be  moistened 
by  a  brush  with  a  solution  consisting  of  one  part  of 
fluid  to  five  parts  of  water. 

1  to  20 

To  purify  Bilge-water 
and  the  holds  of 
Ships. 

The  quantity  to  be  used  at  a  time  is  twenty  gallons  of 
the  dilute  solution  for  each  hundred  tons  of  the  ship's 
measurement.  It  should  be  poured  into  the  air-holes  of 
the  ship,  so  that  it  may  find  its  way  by  the  limber-holes 
into  the  well ;  and  it  should  be  thrown  by  a  small  engine 
into  places  where  it  may  be  inconvenient  to  introduce  it 
by  other  means.  A  portion  may  also  be  poured  down  the 
ship’s  pumps,  the  boxes  being  previously  removed  to 
allow  of  its  free  passage  below.  The  solution  should  be 
allowed  to  remain  in  the  ship  twenty-four  hours  At  the 
expiration  of  that  time  the  ship  should  be  pumped  as  dry 
as  possible,  the  well  thoroughly  cleansed  and  washed 
with  the  solution,  and  the  operation  repeated  as  occa- 

1  to  20 

N.  B.  When  floors  and  other  wood- work  are  washed  with  the  Solution, 
it  should  not  only  be  freely  applied,  but  well  rubbed  into  all  parts  of  the 
wood  ;  and  the  use  of  soap  or  soda  should  be  avoided  immediately  before 
or  after  its  application. 


LOYIS,  HODGES  &  SILSBEE, 

MANUFACTURERS,  IMPORTERS,  AND  DEALERS  IN 

* 

Dyeing  Drugs,  Drysalteries, 

CHEMICALS,  &c. 

Nos.  63  &  67  WATER  STREET,  BOSTON. 


Proprietors  of  tlio 

MATTAPANNOCK  CHEMICAL  WORKS, 


First  and  Second,  corner  of  C  Streets, 


SOUTH  BOSTON, 


FOR  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF 


Logwood,  Hypernic-Fustlc,  and 
Light  Bark  Liquor. 

Cut  and  Bolted  Dye  Woods. 
Extract  of  Logwood. 

Purified  Carbonate  of  Soda. 
Prepared  Soda  Ash. 

Dunging  Salts. 

Preparing  Salts. 

Scouring  Salts. 

Silicate  of  Soda.  (Patented  1855.) 
Sugar  of  Lead. 

Tin  Crystals. 

Muriate  of  Tin  Liquor. 
Oxymuriate  of  Tin  Liquor. 


Chloride  of  Zinc. 

Iron  Liquor. 

Red  Liquor. 

Acetate  of  Lime  Liquor. 

Liquor  Ammonia  fort. 

Aqua  Ammonia,  any  Strength. 
Spirit  of  Ammonia, 
spirits  of  Nitre. 

Vinegar,  and  Strong  for  Manu¬ 
facturers’  use. 

Acetic  Acid. 

Muriatic  Acid. 

Nitric  Acid. 

Red  Prus.  Potash  Powders,  &c. 


Also,  constantly  on  hand  and  for  sale  at  Store, 


Alum. 

Blue  Vitriol. 
Copperas. 

Bi  Chrom.  of  Potash. 
Prussiate  of  Potash. 
Red  Prus.  of  Potash. 
Indigo. 

Madders. 


Woad. 

Soda  Ash. 

Sal  Soda. 
Caustic  Soda. 

A  rgols. 

Oxalic  Acid. 
Tartaric  Acid. 
Nitrate  of  Lead. 


Turmeric. 

Cutch. 

Gambler. 

Sumac. 

Cudbear. 

Cochineal. 

Starch. 

Oils,  Elaine,  Ac. 


REFERENCES. 

AMOS  A.  LAWRENCE,  Esa. 

Messrs.  JAMES  W.  PAIGE  &  CO. 

Hon.  NATHANIEL  SILSBEE. 

E.  SMITH,  Esq.,  Treasurer  Naumkeag  Steam  Cotton  Co. 

F.  B.  CROWNINSHIELD,  Esq.,  Treasurer  Merrimack  Man’g  Co. 


I 


V 


Lovis,  Hodges  &  Silsbee, 


OFFICE,  03  .V  67  WATER.  STREET, 


JYol  over  Sixty  Feet  long , 


CAN  BE  BURNETTIZED  AT  OUR  WORKS 


Manufactured  and  for  Sale,  in  any  quantity,  in  the  form 
of  a  Concentrated  Solution. 


nmtiMaaMii&imm 


1ATTAPANN0CK  CHEMICAL 


A.  3XT  3D 


BORNETTtZtNC  WORKS, 


First  and  Second,  corner  of  C  Streets, 


SOUTH  BOSTON; 


